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"Jan White's books are the very best working how-to and why-to

volumes available on the use of graphics in books and publications."

— Publisher's Weekly

Color for
impact

How color can get your message across
— or get in the way

Jan V. White

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012

http://archive.org/details/colorforimpacthoOOwhit

Color for
impact

How color can get your message across
— or get in the way

Jan V. White

Also by Jan V. White

Graphic Idea Notebook (2nd edition, Rocl<port Publishers, Rockport, MA, 1991)

Color for the Electronic Age (Watson-Guptill, Xerox Press, New York, 1990)

Graphic Design for the Electronic Age (Watson-Guptill, Xerox Press, New York, 19

Great Pages (Serif Publishing, Xerox, El Segundo, CA, 1990)

Xerox Publishing Standards, co-author (Watson-Guptill, Xerox Press, New York, ^9i

The Grid Book (Letraset USA, Paramus, NJ, 1987)

Using Charts and Graphs (R.R.Bowker, New Providence, NJ, 1984)

Mastering Graphics (R.R.Bowker, New Providence, NJ, 1983)

Designing for Magazines (2nd edition, R.R.Bowker, New Providence, NJ, 1982)

Editing by Design (2nd edition, R.R.Bowker, New Providence, NJ, 1982)

18 Ready-to-use Grids (National Composition Association, Arlington, VA, 1980)

On Graphics: Tips for Editors (Ragan Communications, Chicago, 1980)

Learn Graphic Design video (VideoTutor, Austin, TX 1989)

Reproduction of this book is stnctly forbidden, in whole or in part, in any form,
written, mechanical, or electronic. Quotations must have the consent of the
publisher This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative
information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in legal, accounting or other
professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services
of a competent professional should be sought. (From a Declaration of Principles
jointly adopted by a committee of the American Bar Association and a committee
of publishers.)

Printed in the United States of America. First printing, September 1996.

ISBN 9624891-9-0

Published by:

Strathmoor Press, Inc.

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Table of contents

Foreword by Roger C. Parker
Introduction 2

1 Getting the best out of color 3

2 Ten commandments on using color 7

3 Where to use color 8

4 How much color to use 12

5 Copying color in black-and-white 13

6 Making the most of color 14

7 Which color to choose 1 7

About color preferences 1 7

About the symbolism of color 18

About color associa tions 1 9

About the psychological implications of color 20

8 Combining colors with colors 21

9 Color and panels 23

10 Color and pictures 25

1 1 Color and type 27

12 How words, shape, space, and color produce impact 31

Example 1: Blending form and content 31

Example 2: Telephone list 40

Example 3: Newsletter 42

Example 4: Inter-office memo 44

Example 5: Policy cover 46

Example 6: Flyer 48

Example 7: Work schedule 50

Examples: Poster 52

13 Technicalities about color 54

Comparisons

Foreword

The book you're holding in your hand is a modern day clas-
sic by the "father of intelligent design," Jan V. White.

Jan's pioneering Editing by Design was the first in a long
series of books which demystified design by replacing "cre-
ativity" with common sense and a reader-oriented/message-
oriented focus. In simple and entertaining language, accom-
panied by numerous hand-drawn illustrations, Jan White
broke down the barrier between editors and designers and,
in the process, encouraged writers to think like designers —
and designers to think like writers. Hundreds of thousands of
editors and art directors have been inspired and entertained
by his writings and seminar presentations. Many owe their
careers to the encouragement and guidance his books pro-
vide.

Color for Impact continues the Jan White tradition of offering
a maximum amount of advice using a minimum number of
well-chosen words. His inimitable clarity logic, and personal-
ity emerge clearly from every page of the book. It is disarm-
ingly simple and easy to read, yet you'll find yourself return-
ing to and reviewing each page because of the density of
important information it contains. Jan White says more in a
sentence than most writers in a paragraph.

How this differs from other books on color

In contrast to the numerous overly-technical and overly-
theoretical volunnes on this subject, Color for Impact is
functionally oriented. The emphasis is on how color can
help you get your message across as simply and as effec-
tively as possible. Color for Impact sparks your creativity
by describing ways color can help your documents com-
municate better — then shows how to fine-tune them so
the color enhances, rather than obscures, your message.
Numerous before and after illustrations drive home its
lessons. This is a book to be thumbed through as well as
read cover-to-cover.

Color for Impact deserves to be within reach of every
editor and desktop publisher's computer. It encourages
newcomers to think about color in new ways and reminds
experienced designers that color can be a two-edged
sword: it can as easily obscure a message as drive it
home. In either case, by focusing on the message and the
communication rather than what Jan White calls the
"decorative" aspects of color, Color for Impact W\\\ help
you take advantage of the reduced costs and increased
availability of color at all levels.

Roger C. Parker

Author, The Aldus Guide to Basic Design.

Looking Good in Print,

The One-Minute Designer,

Desktop Publishing and Design for Dummies.

Introduction

Color in working print is not an esthetic medium, but a rational
technique to be applied for functional purposes: recognition...
emphasis... linkage... organization... persuasion. If it also
helps to create beauty, so much the better. But its practical
utility is more valuable than its prettiness. If you see it as a raw
material to be used to fulfill specific tasks, you can apply it with
confidence and flair. Think in four steps:

1 . Define what the thrust of the message is

(How can you emphasize what is important without that knowledge?)

2. Decide who your audience is

(How can they understand you, if you don't speak their language?)

3. Figure out why they should care

(Who listens unless they sense an inherent What's-ln-lt-For-Me value?)

4. Expose that value to view

(Who pays attention if the What's-ln-lt-For-Me doesn't pop out?)

Given this intellectual basis, you can logically and confidently
blend the ideas, the type, and the images in a lucidly laid-out
arrangement — and exploit color to make it vivid.

"First-glance value" is not just a catch phrase. It is the very
kernel of functional communication in print, given today's
frantic competition for attention. It blends writing/editing with
design into a single process, because the valuable ideas must
be highlighted in the words, while they are simultaneously
exposed to view in the layout. Content and form are one.
Design is a lubricant for ideas.

This is intended to be a practical guide. It is as concise as I
have been able to devise because, like even/body you want
stuff in a hurry. That is why the principles are followed by a
group of Befores-and-Afters to show them applied in practice.
The color used in the Afters is integral with meaning. Canny
use of color is more than just "running a title in blue." It can,
no, it must, have broader significance. That is what makes
color such a fascinating material.

Jan V. White, Westport, Connecticut, September 1

Getting the best out of color

Color makes everything look better: it creates a richer image, more powerful
advertising, more captivating presentations. Color leverages the
power of the first impression. It is intuitive and we all understand
it, so we must use it as a tool for communication.

Raises perception of quality: both printed matter and presentations were voted*
60°o better if they were in color. The decision whether to pay
attention or throw the publication in the wastebasket is made in
2.5 seconds.

Improves competitive position: color is an obvious built-in advantage when
compared to ordinary black-and-white.

Grabs attention: any element stands out simply by being different from its black-
and-white surrounings, creating curiosity and thus attracting
attention to itself. Color identifies warranties, prices, offer expira-
tion dates, payment information, etc.

Simplifies complex information: color coding reduces visual search time by up
to 80%. Procedure guides, technical manuals are more effective.
It brings order to chaos.

Initiates action: highlighting a problem engages the recipients' interest, triggers
faster reaction. Problems are resolved faster, more efficiently.

Spotlights key elements: diagrams, charts and graphs are easier to understand
when crucial components look different from their context.

Makes large documents less intimidating: visually breaking them into their
component parts by color makes them smaller; making impor-
tant information stand out makes it more accessible, more user-
friendly and reader-friendly.

Highlights changes: color makes revisions stand out, helping the user to identify
current information.

Organizes information: color used consistently throughout a document or series
of documents becomes a classifying factor, cues the viewer to
recognize elements for the kind of thing they are.

Increases impact of personal data: variable data specific to the recipient is

flattering, irresistible. Ordinary documents become extraordinary
and trigger results. 'Remaining balance' printed in color on an
instalment-buying form raised payment-in-full from 20% to
more than 50%.

Improves utility: data-based information is more useful if parts of that information
specifically relevant to the user stand out in color. For instance: a
price list with distributor's wholesale prices in red communicates
more effectively.

3 • statistics cited on this and the next page are quoting a variety of published studies

Color focuses observation: concentrates viewers' attention and makes them
notice critical information. Medical, geological diagrams, wiring
charts, circuit board layouts... any visually complex delineation.

Gives warnings: color makes safety precautions visible and alerts the viewer to

danger to life or property. Red means stop. Yellow means caution.

Increases participation: by isolating and thus making crucial information more
visible, it increases readership and the reader's involvement and
caring about the information. In a study of 25,000 magazines, ads
had 52% higher readership when color was added.

Lengthens attention span: by using color to emphasise what the writer/editor
deems important, the reader is held by up to 82% longer.

Speeds learning: it makes the important matter stand out from the background,
prompting the processing of information by classified hierarchy.
Presentations are 70% clearer when color focuses on important
details.

Improves recall : memory is triggered by visual stimuli, placement.and relationships
to surroundings. Color increases recall by up to 60% in educa-
tional materials and training manuals if it is used functionally to
organize the pages. Students remembered 25% more when their
texts were highlighted in red.

Helps recognition: brand identification increased 70% when color was added.

Reduces errors: color focuses peoples' attention, thus helps them to fill out
questionnaires and forms 50% more accurately.

Expands motivation: by displaying the "what's in it for me value" to the viewer,

color generates excitement and enthusiasm. One study showed a
26% improvement in tendency to act.

Sells more: color attracts more readers than the equivalent black-and-white page. It
induces them to pay attention, react — and buy (up to 85% more).
Ads in the Yellow Pages get 44% more response when red is
used.

Persuades: favorable response to the printed page creates favorable reactions to
the ideas and influences favorable decisions. Color can show a
concept or a new product in its best light. Proposals become
more acceptable.

Boosts productivity: when used effectively color adds value through improved

readability, more obvious clarity, fewer errors, longer recall, more
accurate comprehesion, faster reaction.

Using color in business documents is a rational skill. It is not an artistic,
subjective or personal form of self-expression. Using color in this work-
ing world has little to do with instinct or "liking," and everything with
deliberate effectiveness. The goal is to blend the meaning of the mes-
sage with astute visual techniques that help to explain the message and
so to catapult it off the page into the individual reader's mind.

But what about Creativity? Unfortunately, this much overused word comes up
whenever "design" is talked about. Too often it is misunderstood to mean
inventing the weird, the new, the unexpected, as though being different were
in itself a virtue. It is not. Being clear is far more valuable.

Having ideas is wonderful, of course. The question is whether they are good
or bad, useful or misleading. The worst ideas are usually the ones that are
stolen from somewhere else and grafted onto your product, whether they
make substantive sense or not. The best ideas grow organically out of the
material itself, responding to the document's needs and purposes. To create
a standard of credibility, dependability, and trustworthiness, concentrate on:

Empathy: Think like your reader. Speak to a specific audience. Satisfy its needs.

Relevance: Make the presentation fit the document's purpose. Don't decorate.

Courage: Catch attention with images unexpected in the document's context.

Humor: Humanize your subject with visual and editorial punning.

Imagination: Combine elements in inventive ways to achieve intellectual sparkle.

Teamwork: Pool the talents and knowledge of all involved in the document.

Discipline: Insist on fine crafstmanship, precision, consistency to create excellence.

How do people use a document? Every reader is first a looker, quickly scanning the
pages to find that nugget of information that is valuable to that individual.
The looker becomes a reader when the writer persuades him or her that
there is something in there worth while bothering with.

That is why you must make publications friendlier, easier to enter, easier to
understand, faster to find things in. They must have a "first-glance value" that
will make them essential immediately. They must display the "what's-it-about"
and "what's-in-it-for-me" factors. That is why the message must be planned,

constructed and written in such a way that color can be used to identify
the valuable nuggets in it. Nuggets are special. Color should be ear-
marked to reinforce their specialness.

How can color help? Everything in print must be perceived by the user as giving better
service, more concisely, faster. Color can highlight that service, It can
be used to focus on explicit data. That is why color must be seen as a
functional material, not just as a decorative one. It has to be used to
add intellectual value, not just to catch attention. It must be used to
enlighten, not merely to dazzle. It is vain to hope that a pretty-looking
page will sell the information it contains. It will be swamped in our visu-
ally competitive environment. To fulfill its purpose, color must be func-
tional as well as pretty. It must be used to reinforce the message.

Used functionally, color is much more than a cosmetic added to the
surface of an existing page. "Colorizing" a bit here or a bit there
just because color is available, without simultaneously using it for worth-
while emphasis, is mere prettification and a waste. Color has to be used
as an integral part of a coordinated effort to make the information in
print faster and easier to understand, it should only be used to highlight
the rarest and brightest elements. It is a reinforcement of signals.

As such, it is a partner with typography, page architecture, infographics,
and most of all — the writing and editing process. Its visual characteris-
tics must be exploited to help turn

information chaos

into organized and

enthusiastic

understanding.

Ten commandments on using color

Thou shall combine visual appeal with meaning

Color is appealing. In our information-overloaded society, the more appeal-
ing the message, the more likely is it to capture the attention of its audience.
But prettiness is not enough. Color must also mean something.

Thou shah assign color deliberately to fulfill specific functions

Color is not exciting by itself — it is everywhere. Only when it is coupled
with intellectual meaning can it achieve valued significance.

Thou shah use color to guide viewers to fast comprehension

Color IS different from black That is what makes it special in print. Use it
sparingly, with discrimination

Thou shah avoid weakening color's power by overuse

Color IS noticed only if it is bright enough, large enough, conspicuous
enough, rare enough.

Thou shah not use color just because it is available

Never use color just to dress up the publication. Use it only if the message
IS the better for it. it must be more than embellishment.

Thou shah use color to explain, not to decorate

Don't be content with making the publication "pleasing to the eye."
Use color to lead the eye to worthy material.

Notice the color
of the panel's
background:
it IS the palest
screen of red.
It defines the area,
and makes the
Commandments
stand out as a
group, special
and different
from the rest of
the publication.
Yet it IS not so
strong as to
be disturbing.
It has been
assigned a job
to do and it does
It quietly. A good
example of
functional use
of color.

Thou shah use color to sharpen the delivery of your message

Decide where the greatest value for the reader lies, then use color to make it
stand out. Color must work for its living it must add value.

Thou shah establish character by consistent color use

Predictability creates comfort, recognition, personality Build identity with
disciplined color, type, spacing and page architecture.

Thou shah use color to provide continuity

Most publications are part of a series "Belonging" is advantageous both to
the Item and its publisher. Each issue is your representative.

Thou shah plan for color use from the start of the project

Colorizing by retrofitting cannot do justice to color's capacity as a functional,
rational, intellectual material Plan for its purposeful utilization.

Where to use color

Documents represent work. They are expected to be dull, because
they have usually been uninviting, ordinary. Color can make them ex-
traordinar/. It can change that negative perception by giving the recipi-
ent a reason to enter, because it looks like cheerful, friendly material.
But it is more than just that: since people look at the brightest and
"different" area first, color can be used to prioritize information in a
document. It can be used to organize the content, explain the struc-
ture, highlight the benefits. The more important an item is, the more
colorful and noticeable it should be.

Write the text in such a way that it will benefit from color. Plan
the writing to allow key factors to be visually emphasized. When the
visual form works with the verbal content, the result is irresistible.

Accent whatever is of greatest self-interest to the recipient. The

"What's in it for me" factor in a document is the bait on the hook that
will pull the potential reader into reading. Your special offer. . . the phone
number where help can be reached. . . the expiration date of their
policy. . . a warning about their safety. . . whatever concerns them most.

Emphasize the main points in the text. Make the particularly co-
gent paragraph stand out by running it in color. Lead the eye to the
positive results of a series of actions, highlight the benefits, the advan-
tages. Pinpoint the topic under discussion (but not the headings; they
already stand out in type, so it is probably a waste of effort to use color
on them as well — unless there is another good reason to do it).

Pinpoint the main feature in text or graphics. Focus the viewer's
attention to whatever you want them to notice: data that exceed the
norm. . . profit or loss on the bottom line. . .

Personalize variable data. Highlight the specifics of an insurance
policy. . . back-ordered items on a parts list. . . anything that is particular
to the recipient. Best of all: the recipient's name. Documents personal-
ized and customized for a specific individual are most likely to get atten-
tion and be studied.

Alert the viewer to unexpected data. Bank overdrafts. . . exceeding
the extension granted by the tax collector. . . values that exceed specific

I - ~ .■ - >[ ' Compare two sets of data. Fixed versus variable selling and adminis-

')• ^- ■ ' I trative expenses. The current situation versus projected results.

This year's Softball team results versus last year's.

7^ j Distinguish new information from old. Revisions in specifications. . .

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Classify rankings of numbers in a table. Identify shortfalls in red. Or,
more elaborately: numbers exceeding a certain level are green, those at
mid-level blue, below that in red. That uses the code of color meanings:
green for good, go; red for danger, stop; blue for steadiness, credibility.
Even if the table's construction is normal, color triggers recognition of
the rankings, and desired interpretation at first glance.

Link related elements with each other. Color intuitively bridges the
gap between units on the page: the graph line in green and the green
words that describe it. . . the red title and the red key paragraph of the
text. . . the blue name with the blue quotation. . . the orange cause and
its orange effect. Be aware of the linking capacity and never use it unin-
tentionally because it misleads the viewer.

Separate the message from ancillary matter on the page. Identify
page numbers, headers, footers, identifications, commands, logos, menu
choices etc with color. By making these minor elements smaller, lighter,
paler, less significant than the message, color is not used to attract
attention, but merely to classify. That simplifies what the viewer sees,
and makes technical documents less threatening.

Categorize areas of the page with color tints or boxes. Separate
subsidiary information, background information, parallel information,
footnotes, sidebars etc from the main body of the text. Use boxes only
if the information needs to be broken into separate elements, and
placing those elements in separate areas will help to explain it.

Make articles look shorter. Use color to distinguish various catego-
ries of information from each other, it helps the user to separate the
background text from some of the other word-elements on the page:
instructions. . . summaries. . . change revisions. . . biographies. . . locations. .
results... abstracts... conclusions ...anything normally "boxed."

Indicate statistical or qualitative differences by tonal gradations.

Pictorial heights on maps is an obvious example, but the technique can
be applied to any subject that can be diagrammed: thermal analysis
output (temperatures in an object), medical imaging (tumors), etc.

Simplify intricate technicalities. Codify components by assigned
colors. Identify segments of a machine. On architectural plans sepa-
rate plumbing from wiring, structure from air conditioning.

Identify recurrent special pages. Chapter openers, self-test pages,
summaries, indexes etc. Organizing the document as a whole helps to
guide the user through its complexity. Plan ahead to do this, because it
IS more difficult to do by retrofitting.

Split large documents into their components. Long technical
documents are less frightening — and easier to use — when color dem-
onstrates the parts of which they are assembled. They look shorter and
appear more accessible. Define a section by printing it blue. . . directo-
ries on yellow. . . indexes on pink. . . glossaries on grey stock.

Use color flows to make sequences visually obvious. They are
understood at first glance if the color relationships are simple. Most
obvious: the rainbow (red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet).
Gradated steps from dark toward light or light toward dark. . . from blue
to green, from orange to yellow. . .

Develop a color vocabulary. Establishing a consistent system helps
viewers interpret the material. If red identifies signalling devices, then
redness will be the clue viewers look for when searching for help to find
where they are in the document. If green is assigned to positive at-
tributes, then every time green appears in the document, the viewer will
interpret the item as "good news." If menu choices are in blue and
commands are in orange, arbitrarily switching them creates chaos.

How much color to use

Color is an immensely subtle artistic medium. Using it for a functional
purpose in publications needs less subtlety. It demands simplicity, be-
cause its effectiveness depends on memory. Practical experience
shows that people remember and recognize colors only in the broadest
sense: redness, blueness, greenness, and the other basic hues for
which there are specific names (yellow, grey, brown, pink etc).

Little spots are hardly noticeable and seldom worth the effort. Use
color powerfully, with strength and boldness.

Simple color serves best. A polychrome effect might be suitable on
rare occasions, but do you really want a fruit salad? Using every avail-
able color IS like using every available typeface: it makes a mess.

I Two colors in addition to black are understood and remembered
!! best. The more colors there are, the more difficult it is to remember the
; meaning that each carries. Keep the code simple.

Four distinct colors are the practical maximum If you use more,
you have to explain the system with a color key. If you use more than
seven, the viewer gets annoyed.

Use no more color than is essential to make the point, or it loses
its power. For instance, to play down information that is undesirable,
negative or unimportant, use dull colors, but use vivid colors for the part
you want to stand out.

Use the same color coding throughout the entire range of publi-
cations and throughout the life of the project.

Duplicate color with shape. That is not redundant, but helpful. The
emphasized line on a graph should not only be red, but fatter, so it

• attracts the eye more effectively

• is more striking and therefore more memorable

• helps people with impaired color vision

• is more discernible in bad light

Copying color In black and white

Since your pages are likely to be copied in black-and-wlnite, do not rely
completely on color to make diagrams intelligible (specially bar charts).
Even if the black-and-white copier is highly sensitive to gray scale and
well calibrated, it is likely that some of the colors will not look different

enough from each other. Others may surprise you. Therefore, clone the
color differences with a variety of textures or hatch patterns. This is very
important if the document is also shown as overheads in presentations
and units are handed out in hard copy format.

Use redundancy of both shape and texture to reinforce the color
differences between areas.

Dark colors in the red range pick up best in black and-white.

Pale blue and yellows do not pick up welll even in the best of copiers.
Avoid them, if the likelihood of black-and-white copying is great.

Ensure strong contrast of tone between type and its background,

so the type stands out legibly in the copy.

Making the most of color

Black is the most useful and flexible of all colors on the printed page. It
is indeed a "color" on its own. Use the full range of effects that can be
produced by screening:

To make a dark color appear paler, add paper. Paper? Right! The
paper the toner is printed on reflects light. More paper shining through
the toner creates the illusion of lightening the color. Since the toner is
opaque, the only way to get more paper to shine through it is to break
up the solid toner into a dot-like pattern with space between the dots: a

"screen." The smaller the dots and the bigger the space between them,
the paler the effect. The color of the individual dots is always the same,
solid hue of the toner, but their effect varies with their size and spacing.
100% coverage means that the toner is laid without a screen. 10%
screen means that the dots are tiny, there is a lot of paper between
them, and the result is very pale. Do not get confused with dpi or dots
per inch, which is a measure of resolution, or fineness of the printer. The
various percentages of the screens can be produced at any resolution.
Also, do not be confused by the nomenclature of the "screens," "tints"
and "tones" the manufacturer of your equipment may have chosen.
Always go by their samples, choosing what looks right and specifying it
the way they do.

Don't use just one screen. You can make it much richer and more
interesting by adding a screen of black on top of the screen of color.

Beware of the brightness of colors. Just because some look
brighter than others in the color sample book does not mean that they
will be as powerful on the page as you hope. A sample may look strong
when seen as a swatch, but when it is used for printing type, the result
is disappointingly pale.That is because there are so many white spaces
between the strokes of each letter, that it actually acts as though it were
a screen of the color.

To make things noticeable, use strong, saturated, dominant, ag-
gressive colors: yellows, oranges, reds, purples. ("Warm" colors appear
closer to the viewer than cool colors.)

To play something down, make it less noticeable with pale, shy,
recessive colors: blues, greens, greys. ("Cool" colors appear farther
away.)

To identify important elements, use the warm, bright, active colors
to ensure their being noticed first. Use the shy colors for contrast.

To make an area look smaller, color it dark in a quiet color.
To make a small area look larger, use any pale color.

Colors change with their background. No color exists by itself. Its
neighbors affect it. Avoid disappointment: the color you pick will never
be alone, so think ahead to its surroundings. Consider the relationships
of colors to each other, rather than thinking only of individual colors.
There are no new colors, so you canot be creative that way. There are
only new color combinations which you manipulate. To make things
more complicated: The effect of a color changes as its proportion with
its surroundings changes. Alas, there are no simple laws or rules to
follow. Try it out, look at it, then fix it.

The same color looks darker on a light background, but lighter on
a dark background.

The same color looks warmer on a cool background, but cooler
on a warm background.

The same color looks different on a rough textured surface than
on a smooth, shiny surface. Run a test to make sure of the result.

The same color looks different on colored paper The only pre-
dictable fact: the result will be different from what you expect and the
color will not appear to match the original. Test it out.

The same color looks different under different light. Ambient light
affects a publication's perceived fnendliness. In a dark office, bright
colors and bigger type will be more effective, whereas in bright sunlight,
subtler colors and smaller type are appropriate.

To identify related elements, use related colors It is usually better
to create peaceful harmony than clashing variety — even if such gaudi-
ness appears cheerful and "colorful" at first glance. Play it safe and
choose colors that are related in at least one, preferably two ways by:

• hue ( the kind of color it is, e.g. its redness)

• saturation (the color's intensity, brightness, or "chroma")

• value ( the color's shade, darkness/lightness).

If each picket of a fence is painted in a color unrelated to its neighbors,
some stand out, others recede. The fence looks colorful but irregular
and gap-toothed (A).

If the fence is painted in a variety of purples, the individual pickets can
be picked out, yet the fence remains whole (B).
If the pickets are painted in a variety of colors all of which share a similar
tonal value, the pickets can be distinguished from each other, but the
fence remains whole (C).

How does this affect your next bar chart?

Use color with your eyes open. Instead of blindly assuming that
things will look like you want them or imagine them to be, realize that
color can play tricks on you. Just be aware of what you are actually
looking at.

Which color to choose

Here and on the
following pages,
are a few generali-
zations about color.
Some are derived
from scientific
surveys, others
from observation.
People using color
seem to want these
rules to raise their
confidence in their
own judgment.
Unfortunately, there
are no authoritative
guidelines. There is
only rational,
analytical, practical
good sense

Do not pick a color just because you like it. Choose the color that
will help the viewer interpret the message. The information's own logic
should suggest how to handle it and which color to do it with.

Choose colors for their "value" and "chroma" rather than "hue."

The hue (a color's blueness. redness, purpleness) is useful as a recog-
nition factor to categorize information. Value (a color's darkness or
lightness) makes it stand out against the paper. Chroma (a color's
brigtness, saturation) gives brilliance or dullness. Value and chroma
affect your communication goal more powerfully than the hue does.

Choose the background color first. The temptation is first to pick
the color highlighting the important parts and then conform the back-
ground to It. For a better result, decide on the large area (the back-
ground) first, and then conform the contrasting accents to it.

Use your common sense about the symbolism of color. In publi
cations, the psychology of color matters less than where you use the
color, how you use the color in relation to the meaning of the informa-
tion, how much of it you use, and its noticeability (i.e. darkness/lightness
contrast.)

About color preferences

Men prefer blue to red and darker, cooler colors...
but in reds they prefer yellowish ones.

Women prefer red to blue and warmer, lighter colors...
but in reds they prefer bluish ones.

Adults rank colors by preference thus:

blue. . .red. . .green. . .white. . .pink. . .purple. . .orange. . .yellow.

Children rank colors by preference thus:

yellow. . .white. . .pink. . .red. . .orange. . .blue. . .green. . .purple.

Color- preference:

?3X

Read this only if you are curious.
It could be interesting in terms of
general knowledge. For practical
nurposes — skip it.

About the symbolism of color

Colors have psychological associations most of which
are learned and vary among national, social and cultural
groups. There are therefore no universally applicable
rules. What appears exciting to some is merely vulgar to
others. What is cheerful to some is depressing to others.
Older people are made to feel distinctly uncomfortable
by the clashing colors used by today's youth (which is
perhaps why they use them). Lower income groups tend
to prefer colors that are brighter than those chosen by
upper income groups. If the color can be described in
two words, "sky blue" "lemon yellow", then it is a lower-
income color, whereas "greyish blue-green" needs three
words and will be preferred by the more sophisticated
higher-income people. But fashions change at an ever-
faster rate, so even such a broad generalization only
holds true temporarily. That is why advertisers and
especially packagers invest fortunes in studying the
trends of color preferences for their segment of the
target market.

In the marketing sense, colors do indeed communicate
subliminally and the recipients either "like" or "don't like"
what they see. Much consumer acceptance depends on
the first impression the object's color makes. In one
famous experiment, tasters complained that coffee from
a yellow can was too weak, from a dark brown can too
strong, that from a blue can mild but with good aroma,
and that from a red can just right. Of course, it was all
the same coffee. A red car is thought to be faster than a
car of any other color — and insurance premiums for red
cars are higher, but that may be because young people
buy them and they are the fast drivers.

In the supermarket, whiteness bespeaks purity (though
whiteness is produced by chlorine, an environmentally
unfriendly material, so in the future, purity is likely to be
symbolized by unprocessed, unbleached earth colors.)
Earth colors already symbolize natural products using no
artificial preservatives. Pale colors suggest low calories.
Blue is associated with club soda, skim milk, cottage
cheese. Red is linked with heat, so it is never used on
ice cream packages. Yellow stands for richness in butter
and margarine. Silver and gold are expensive. Dark,
vibrant and contrasting colors make a product like
laundn/ powder strong.

Colors are used to idealize the character of the product:
green peas are made greener with additives to make
them more desirable. Colors also echo nature: bees and
yellow-jackets are black and yellow: They sting. Ouch!
Beware! That is why rat poisons are packaged in yellow-
and-black... and many traffic signs are yellow-and-black.
Yes, yellow and black is the most visible combination of
colors. It is surely not a coincidence that both high
visibility and danger are manifested the same way.

Red and yellow rooms feel warmer in terms of tempera-
ture, whereas blue rooms feel cooler. Experiments also

show that blue schoolroomns are quieter and lead to
better-behaved pupils who learn more. Darker rooms
feel more constricting than paler ones. To make a small
room feel bigger, paint it light.

Red is known to be exciting as a color, and green as
more calming, but the effect is heightened or reversed
by the degree of the color's paleness or darkness.
Prison cells are now painted pale pink — it is apparently
more relaxing than the pale green typical of institutions
and hospitals. Red is also used in bars and casinos
because it makes people less aware of the passage of
time. This sounds far-fetched, but many of our stereo-
types are founded on empirical experience and associa-
tions that have evolved over the years and become
traditional. Red makes food more inviting (hence the
maraschino cherry on top of the ice cream sundae) and
by contrast, people eat less in blue rooms.

Pink boxes make the pastry they contain taste better.
They also make cosmetics more valuable. On the other
hand, orange shouts its presence, so it communicates
accessibility, hence cheapness. It is informal, like the
cheap hotels that use lots of orange (on the roof, in the
plastic upholstery, carpets etc). Yellow is visible at
greatest distances, so it is used for traffic signals,
taxicabs, buses. It can also help to sell a house faster
with yellow signs, daffodils in the front and in the vases
inside. It is a cheerful color, but too much of it creates
nervous tension, so babies cry more in yellow rooms.

Dark blue commands respect. It symbolizes authority,
trustworthiness, seriousness. That is why bankers,
law/yers, professors should wear it. Black is an even
more authoritative color for mens' suits, and is ideal for
the bank president, but not the junior clerk. Brown lacks
the authority of blue or black, though it has friendliness
and approachability. However, green is very rarely seen
as a suit color (except in Austria where Loden green is a
national symbol). Green is obviously an environmentally
meaningful color. On the other hand, it is also the ideal
color used as a separator between packages of meat at
the supermarket meat counter, since it is the comple-
mentary color to red, and thus makes the meat appear
fresher, juicier and more irresistible. Don't send green
mailers to farmers in the summer. They are surrounded
with the color, so your appeal won't stand out. Use red
instead. But do use green in winter, when they will
aniticipate its return and feel good about it.

Grey symbolizes creativity, success, and even el-
egance— except for people who live in bleak climates
and who see it as dirty, grimy and depressing. White is
clean, pure, and efficient. The nurse in white is deemed
to be more competent than a nurse in any other color.

Does any of this matter in your context? Use your com-
mon sense.

Colors exist in relation to their
surroundings. The proportions
of one color to another change
the effect. What you use color
for is more important than the
color you do it with

About color associations

Elegant colors: Upmarket. High style. Expensive. Snob-value. Quality.

Gold, silver, copper, metallics, black, chocolate, grey, maroon, navy blue

Masculine colors: Anything used with restraint and nninimally. The Royal Enclosure at Ascot.

Black, silver, grey, purple, port-wine red, old-leather brown, dark racing green.

Feminine colors: Gentle pastels. Misty. Sentimental. Caring. Loving. Springlike.
Pale blues, pale pinks, yellows, pale greys, flesh colors.

Fresh, clean, healthy colors: Cool water, dewy lawns, the scent ot lime or lemon, outdoors.
Daffodil yellow, bright blue, bright greens of all kinds.

Natural colors: Security. Dependability. Food that grandmother used to make.

Browns, oranges, quiet greens, reds, golds, all earth colors.

Loud colors: Dominating. Vibrant. Aggressive. Shouting. Vivid.

Primary (red, yellow, blue) secondary (orange, green, purple) colors. Black., white,

Quiet colors: Peaceful. Passive. Unassuming. Dull.

All colors that are muted and subdued.

Clashing colors: Dynamic. Excitmg. Startling. Don't overdo this!

Unexpected combination of any two or more colors.

Cool colors: Recessive. Calm. Sedating. Status. Remote. OK for large areas on the page.
Blue, green, pale yellow, pale pink , pale purple, violet.

Warm colors: Cheefui. Stimulating. Active, Fun. Requiring response. Only for small areas on the page.
Red, orange, yellow, purple.

Light colors: Soft. Transparent. Airy. Quiet. Shy. Fine for backgrounds.

Any hue with white in it.

Dark colors: Heavy, Dense. Depressing. Ponderous. Dignified. Expensive. Best for type.
Red, purple, green, blue, brown.

Your favorite color:

Does it fit your image?
19

The following words are
not poetry, but an attempt
at describing some of the
psychological implications
of basic colors in our culture.

About the psychological implications of color

Red hot... passionate... bloody... horrifying... burning... fire... sunset... revolutionary...
dangerous... active... aggressive... vigorous... impulsive... crude... bankrupt... Stop!

Yellow energetic. . . bright. . . optimistic. . . cheerful. . . sunny. . . active. . .stimulating. . . noticeable. . .
memorable... intellectual... cowardly... imaginative... idealistic... Caution!

Green natural... fertile... restful... calm... refreshing... financial... prosperous... growing...
youthful... abundant... healthy... envious... diseased... decaying... Go!

Blue serene... calm... loyal... clear... cool... peaceful... tranquil... excellent... just... watery.,
hygienic... distant... conservative... deliberate... spiritual... relaxing... first prize

Dark blue romantic. . . moonlit. . . discouraging. . . stormy

Khaki military... drab... warlike

Pink fleshy. . . sensuous. . . cute. . . romantic. . . sweet. . . cloying

Orange warm... autumnal... gentle... informal... affordable... wise... cheap

Brown earthy... mature... ripe... obstinate... reliable... conscientious... stolid... parsimonious

Sepia old... faded

Purple royal... luxurious... churchly... pompous... valuable... highest award... powerful...
ceremonial... vain... nostalgic... mourning... funereal

White cool... pure... true... innocent... clean... hygienic... trustworthy... simple... honest

Grey neutral... secure... stable... mature... successful... affluent... safe... retrospective...
discreet... wintery... old... calm

Black authoritative... respectful... powerful... strong... present... practical... solemn... dark...
morbid... despairing... evil... empty... heavy... frightening... dead

Gold sunny... majestic... rich... wise... honored... expensive

Silver high tech... moonlit

These expectations of reactions are only broad generalizations
and they may or, may not be valid. Nationality, age, environment,
experience, social and economic class, all affect how people react
to different colors. Also, many groups of people have developed
color symbolisms as a specialized vocabulary of their professions.
Furthermore, the language of color differs by culture. In the Orient,
for instance, colors can signify particular classes of trade and represent
religious and traditional meanings. Be aware of them, if your
publication is targeted at specific demographic groups. However,
everything depends on the specific hue and its shade, brilliance,
and proportion to its surroundings. So, in the words of the cynical
philosopher: all generalizations are false, including this one.

Combining colors with colors

Do not choose colors. Plan effects. Base choice on hue (the color
itself) in conjunction with value (the darkness of the color). They are
separate properties and vary widely. Violet, for instance, is much darker
than yellow, so its effect is very different from yellow's. Color for docu-
ments is chosen by logical analysis. It has nothing to do with what color
you like, because it is nothing like painting your bedroom. The purpose
of color is less about making good-looking pages and more atK)ut
using it to explain, emphasize, organize, draw the eye. affect interpreta-
tion. You are looking for relationships, balance, contrast, proportion.

Harmony is what people normally seek. It is achieved by finding
colors that "go well together." It guarantees a safe — and bland — result.
However, it is not totally reliable, because what may be harmonious to

so"^e 'S ci'St'"C!'\ less so to others.

Contrast creates noticeabilrty. Black-on-white creates the maximum
tonal contrast. Black-on-yellow is more noticeable. In fact, it is so ag-
gressive that it hurts. That is why it is seen on traffic signs but seldom in

bulk on the printed page. It works well as a small accent.

Pure chroma stands out. The purer the chroma (brilliance, bright-
ness!, the more visible it is at a distance and the more noticeable it is
close up. The subtler the color's chroma (the more it comes to neutral
grey), the more difficult it becomes to distinguish the color.

^? 1 Reserve the brilliance of bright colors for special accents.

Use quieter colors for large areas. Do not make the
also the largest area.

Full-strength colors in equal areas create garishness.

Using one color as the dominant and other colors as accents or

support creates the most effective scherr,es in print.

Avoid red/green combinations, especially to distinguish factual
elements. Most color-impaired people suffer ft-om this deficiency.

Pick your
color
scheme
from one of
these:

1 . Corporate identity guidelines. If you are lucky enough already to
have some established palette, learn to understand it and use it with
careful purpose.

2. Similar documents that you admire. Borrowing techniques is not
plagiarism, nor is it something to be ashamed of. "Originality" and "cre-
ativity" are misunderstood and overused concepts, misplaced in the
working world of functional communication. It's not what material you
use but what you do with it that matters.

3. Any of the guidebooks on color schemes commercailly available
artist-supply stores and most bookshops.

4. No-color color scheme: just black, greys and white. Black is indeed
a "color." Flatter it with a technical-sounding name: "achromatic."

5. Black-plus-one-color. The "highlight" scheme is the commonest in
print. All colors go well with black. Bright colors go best with pale grey.
Pale colors go best with dark grey.

Schemes based on the color wheel. The wheel organizes colors
according to the spectrum. It is divided into ten segments. Locate one
color and then use the following short-cuts to establish relationships:

that lie directly across the wheel.
(Complementary scheme). To avoid garish effects,
do not use full-strength colors in areas of the same
size. Instead, use the quieter of the two for large
areas, the brighter one as small accents.

Colors that are separatedl by one segment.

(Analogous scheme). Since they are so closely re-
lated, they tend to be harmonious, especially if one
of them is clearly the dominant.

Colors that are separated by three segments.

(Contrasting scheme). They need not clash unpleas-
antly, if the duller is used for background and the
brighter as accent.

Colors that are variations within a segment.

(Monochromatic scheme). Lighter and darker, or
yellower and bluer versions of red, for instance.
Realism and shading is normally achieved by using
monochromatic color groups.

Color and panels

Difference in color separates an area from its surroundings. It marks it
as a special element on the page. Inserting color panels is also an easy
way to make the pages look richer and more interesting— as long
as the color is not overwhelming. Charts, tables, graphs, illustrations,
boxes, etc. are a good opportunity for such emrichment.

A shared color welds scattered elements into a unified chain of
impressions. A coherent look strengthens, variety of colors disintegrates
the publication. The most unified result is gained by using only one hue
for backgrounds.

The larger the area, the lighter the color should be. The smaller the
area, the more saturated the color can be. Large areas of color look
more saturated than small ones that use the same color, no matter
what color you use.

Use only the lightest colors as a background for type. Ease of legibil-
ity depends on high contrast between the type and the background on
which It IS seen. We are used to and expect the maximum contrast:
black on white. Color background reduces the contrast. Take no risks,
make it pale, never darker than a screen of

• 20% for the yellows and light blues.

• 15% for red and green.

• 10% for purple or brown.

Use bars of equal value of color for tables. Help the eye track from
side to side by color strips, but avoid creating easier-to-read versus
harder-to-read comparisons. Since black is easier to read on white than
on a darker background, the wording in the black-on-white rows stands
out more. Controlling the value solves the problem of inequality of im-
portance.

Use gradient fills to create motion. Ramping or gradation is a tech-
nique in whicin screens change from dark to light In small steps, giving
the illusion of smooth tonal change. The eye normally travels from the
richer, darker side towards the lighter, paler side.

Print the most important information at the light end of the ramp
for maximal contrast. That way you lead viewers to what you want
noticed. They are bound to study it first, leaving the less contrasty area
till later, mistaking it for unimportant, supporting background.

Place the important material on the dark side if you are using
white lines or type on a colored background (i.e. the reverse of the
previous scheme).

Watch out for moire patterns when printing one screen on top of
another to create mixed colors. The tiny marks combine with one an-
other to make unwanted stars or lines. Check to make sure that the
equipment is calibrated to the correct "angling" of the screens.

Color and pictures

Avoid printing black-and-white photos in color. They look pale and
washed-out, because the contrast of color-to-white is weaker than that
of black-to-white. Thus even the darkest areas can only be as dark as
the darkness of the color you are using. The darker the color, the richer
the result. Dark blue, dark green, are best. Red blushes pink.

Avoid printing a color screen over a black-and-white photo, even
though It looks more colorful. The color blankets all areas alike, darkens
the highlights, and robs the picture of its contrast and sparkle.
Do It only if colorfulness is more valuable to the publication, than the
;■ ■ - ■ 'ne photo would be to the /nd/wdua/ reader

BLACK HALFTONE WITH CYAN HALFTONE

For maximum impact, make duotones from black plus another color
A duplicate halftone is surpnnted in color on top of the black halftone.
Dark areas are reinforced, while light areas remain open, enhancing
thp intpnc;ity nf thp image, and giving it a touch of subtle hue.

BLACKA'ELLO.'/

Create unexpected results by running duotones in unexpected combi-
nations of colors. Or change the balance of the components in normal
duotones by strengthening one, or "shortening" the other. Experiment!

Create startling effects by printing high-contrast duotones over a very
light screen of a third, pale color. This is an area for courageous
experimentation because variations are endless.

BLACK/MAGENTA ON 20% YELLOW SCREEN

Nothing replaces the credibility of full color. The world is colorful
and four-color process represents it most realistically- Its four compo-
nent colors (Cyan, Magenta. Yellow, and BlacK) are balanced to blend
into the illusion of reality when printed on top of each other.

You can find walls
painted in this daring
shade of orange in
Maimo, Sweden.
Extending the wall's
color Into the panel
below increases
the drama and helps
focus on the reason
why the picture
was published.

Expand the impact of a full-color picture by matching one of its
colors elsewhere on the page. If the subject of a box is related, the
color will link them. If the headline is related, the color will link them.

Weaken panels by color. Panels dominate color pictures because
they are visually so simple. A color different from the photo reinforces
their contrast, but matching v\/eakens it, bringing them into balance.
Gentle ramps look much more natural when panels are near photos.

Too much spice spoils the soup. Unlimited special graphic effects
are possible using various software capabilities: mezzotint textures,
polarization, posterization, superimposition, etc. They can give
sparkle and graphic dash to the page. Watch out. Less is more.

Color and type

Blacktype on white paper works best for text. That is why it is
"normal." Printing it in color carries a risk: it goes against habit. It the
material in color is remarkable enough, (and short enough), the reader
will pay attention because it is "different," despite habit. But do not
overdo it, or it will lose its surprise value.

Black type on white paper has the best contrast for legibility. Print
ing the same type in color reduces that contrast, because colors are
paler than black. Color arouses curiosity, but reduces legibility. Some
colors (e.g. yellow) are paler than others (e.g. violet). Weigh the loss of
contrast against the advantage of colorfulness. Weigh the cost/benefit
ratio. Every decision costs something.

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely.

The pangs of despised love, the law's delays. The pangs of despised love, the law's delays.

The insolence of office, and the spurns The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes. That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin'? With a bare bodkin'? fardels bear,

; , • ^ : ,,- V To grunt and , t : . ir - ■ .veary life,

p. t that the dread of someth ng after death But that the dread of something after death,

"e undiscover'd country from whose bourn The undiscover'd country from whose bourn

0 traveler returns puzzles the wilf No traveller returns, puzzles the will,

: - ^ - ,-.^-. ^--.. .^--- n- , - L-^ - And makes us rn+^p" berr Those ills we have

Than fly to not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all: Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

And thus the native hue of resolution And thus the native hue of resolution

Is Sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought. Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.

Compensate for color's paleness by using more of it. All printed
colors are weaker than black To achieve impact equivalent to black's:

• make the element bigger (e.g. a size larger type)

• make the lines fatter (e.g. a bolder weight of type)

• make them both bigger and fatter

(That is why color should be reserved for page components and infor-
mation important enough to warrant such emphasis.)

As always, the context in which color is used affects the wisdom of
using it. Where headings are expected to be run in black (as in
regular newspapers, for instance), using a color is startling. If the title
so uniquely treated is worthy of the distinction, the fact that it is
startling and thus stands out against the others is not merely justified
but an advantage. If, however, the title has been picked out in color
arbitrarily, just to add a touch a "variety" and to "dress up the page,"
then its distinction is leading the public to a false interpretation. It has
been made to appear more important than it deserves to be. The
disappointed reader feels cheated, and the publication loses
credibility.

The darker the color, the less difficult it is to read. A color may
look strong in a sample, but looks pale and washed-out when used for
type. That is because the text acts just like a "screen" letting a lot of
white paper be seen between the strokes of the letters, where the color
is. Pick a much darker color than you think you need.

Which is moic iiu|H>riaiit: wl>al
the article says, or ihc way you
make it look cute? Surface

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Don't make ihem notice the color
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yon should pick only light tints
for haekerouiids lo type.

What works and does not work. Here are some generally a
principles which may or may not be true. Take them for what they are.

Black text on white (but not white text on black )

Dark green text on white background

Dark blue text on white background

Brown text on white background

Warm color text on cool colored background

Red text on green

Green text on red

Blue text on yellow

Green text on blue

Red text on blue

Black text on grey darker than 20%

Black text on color that is darker than 20% black

White text on black

Any bright colored text longer than a paragraph

Black on yellow

Black on orange

Orange on dark blue

Green on white

Red on white

Dark blue on white

White on dark blue

Orange on black

White on black

White on green, red, or purple

Purple on white

Dark blue on yellow

Dark blue on orange

Yellow on black

Yellow on dark blue

Purple on yellow

For text type in color, do as many of the following as you can:

Increase the type size.

Use a bolder weight of type.

Make lines a little shorter than usual.

Add an extra sliver of space between the lines.

Avoid peculiar typefaces that are hard to read.

Choose a sans-serif face.

Avoid condensed or expanded or oblique type.

Avoid too many words set in capital letters.

Keep type normal (let color do the shouting).

Color should emphasize the important point
Color should emphasize the important point
Color should emphasize the important point
Color should emphasize the important point

Color should emphasize the important point

Run key words in a title in black instead of color. Normally we
make special elements stand out m color, because we think color is
special. But color does not stand out as well as we think it does, since
it is paler than black. Better think the other way: print the surrounding
words in color and use black for maximal attention.

Color should emphasize **-" - — ^rtant point

Make surrounding words grey, to help the key words stand out in
color — if you insist on color for them. Screening tones the black down
and improves the balance.

Never screen type smaller than 18pt. It disintegrates the strokes of
the letters and makes them illegible.

For white type on color, do as many of the following as you can:

Pick a dark color for good contrast .

Use a solid color, not a screen.

Pick type that has strokes of even thickness.

Use a bold version of serif faces.

Avoid extrabold faces whose hales ("e") cl«g.

Avoid condensed, expanded, or oblique faces.

Enlarge the type by one, preferably two, sizes.

Add a sliver of extra space between the lines.

Keep lines short.

Set ragged-right for normal word-spacing.

Choose subtle, quiet colors rather than aggressive, bright ones for
backgrounds to colored type. Colored type on a bright background
tires the eye faster than if it were on white... type is to be read, not red.

Make a test whenever colored type will print on a colored back-
ground—whether the background color is printed on white, or it is the
color of the paper stock itself. There are no rules and the effects are

unpredictable.

This Is 8 sample of type
representing text in bulk or
my type set smaller than
14 point. Its purpose is to
demonstrate the subtle
relationship of type printed
In color on a colored back-
ground, and to show how
both notlceabllity and legi-
bility vary. Choose colors
that help reading, unless

Ttiis is a samf!'
lopresenting
ciny type set s[
14 point. Its pi
demonstrate t]
lolationship o
in color on a
ground, and I
both noticeabi
bility vary. Ch^
that help read
you want to c

tie of type
ext in bulk or
mailer than
jrpose Is to
he subtle
f type printed
lolored back-
) show how
llty and legi-
>ose colors
ng, unless
eate shock.

Be sure that there is at least 30% difference in tone value be-
tween the color of the words and of their background. Anything less
will make the words invisible, no matter how bright the color. Plan early,
so you can run experiments and avoid difficulties.

Avoid type on a picture, even if it is printed in color. It is harder to
read if the background is mottled or textured. Color in the type or the
picture (or both) does not help. It makes it worse.

•Senv'

Spark up non-typographic devices such as rules, bullets, bars etc.
with color. However, be just as discriminating here as elsewhere in
what to colorize. Color should reinforce a rational, calculated purpose.
These elements are so easy to print in color that doing so has become
hackneyed. If you do decide on the trick, then do it with gusto and
bright colors. If you have to use a pale color, use bolder lines and big-
ger symbols.

Do not sacrifice legibility for graphic effect. The value of the docu
ment lies in its content, not in how loud it shouts.

How words, shape, space, and color produce impact

Example 1: Blending form and content

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know before you start assembling your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the writing to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in type. What you are about to read is an
example. This version, written and displayed as
running text, is the most common way of trans-
mitting factual information. There's nothing
wrong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
list, whose visible structure helps scanning. A list
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other. The very fact of
its being seen as a list makes the information more
inviting, because we know from experience that
it will be quick and easy to take in. The visual
tabulation of the list helps make the intellectual
substance understandable. It is therefore faster. It
makes the information units easier to compre-
hend. The facts are easier to compare to each other.
Their number is apparent at first glance, whether
they are numbered, bulleted or indented. As a re-
sult, information is presented more effectively,
details are clearly ranked, data more accessible,
and viewers can find what they are looking for
faster.

The traditional text block
demanding effort
to read and study
to unearth the benefits
that are hidden in it.

Please read it
to find out
what the next
eight pages
are all about...

Write and design
with color in mind

This is the same as

the version on

the preceding page.

The information is hidden

in the text block.

The user must

search it out,

identify it,

and remember it.

That is a laborious

and time-consuming

process.

Write and design
with color in mind

How does red add value?
Not much.
Making the heading
or the box colorful
succeeds only in
making the heading
or the box colorful.
It is livelier than plain black,
but it adds no clues
to understanding
the message.

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know hetore you start assembling your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the writing to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in type. What you are about to read is an
example. This .version, written and displayed as
running text, is the most common way of trans-
mittmg factual information. There's nothing
wrong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
list, whose visible structure helps scanning. A list
IS a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist vyithout the other. The very fact of
Its being seen as a hst makes the information more
mviting, because we know from experience that
It will be quick and easy to take in. The visual
tabulation of the list helps make the intellectual
substance understandable. It is therefore faster. It
makes the information units easier to compre-
hend. The facts are easier to compare to each other.
Their number is apparent at first glance, whether
they are numbered, bulleted or indented. As a re-
sult, information is presented more effectively,
details are clearly ranked, data more accessible,
and viewers can find what they are looking for
faster.

Write and design
with color in mind

A large block of text

run in color looks cheerful,

lively and attractive at first glance —

but it will go unread.

It is too uncomfortable to the eye.

Try It. You'll bog down by line 8.

When readers become conscious

of the act of reading,

they realize that they are "working"

and quickly stop.

The best type is "transparent."

By the way: notice how strong

the heading in black looks.

The most hackneyed use of color:

tint-panel as background.

It is not "wrong."

it is just uninspiring.

If the purpose for its use

IS to distinguish this material

from the other elements

on the page,

then, of course, it is succeeding,

and improving the message.

Be sure to make the color pale:

a 20% screen is maximum.

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know before you start assembling your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the writing to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in type. What you are about to read is an
example. This version, written and displayed as
running text, is the most common way of trans-
mitting factual information. There's nothing
wrong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contams are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
list, whose visible structure helps scanning. A list
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other. The very fact of
its being seen as a list makes the information more
inviting, because we know from experience that
it will be quick and easy to take in. The visual
tabulation of the list helps make the intellectual
substance understandable. It is therefore faster. It
makes the information units easier to compre-
hend. The facts are easier to compare to each other.
Their number is apparent at first glance, whether
they are numbered, bulleted or indented. As a re-
sult, information is presented more effectively,
details are clearly ranked, data more accessible,
and viewers can find what they are looking for
faster.

Write and design
with color in mind

The benefits contained

in the text

stand out in boldface.

Even in black-and-white,

a second tone of voice

has been added.

It speaks a little louder,

emphasizing those points

the reader is encouraged

to notice, because

they are the most important

and worthy of attention.

Reversing the type
in white against
a color background
is so uncomfortable
for the eye to decipher,
that the difference
between the regular type
and the bold type
is hardly noticeable.
Nobody would bother
to read it anyway.

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know betore you start assembling your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the writing to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in type. What you are about to read is an
example. This version, written and displayed as
running text, is the most common way of trans-
mitting factual information. There's nothing
wrong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
list, whose visible structure helps scanning. A list
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other. The very fact of
its being seen as a list makes the information more
inviting, because we know from experience that
it will be quick and easy to take in. The visual
tabulation of the list helps make the intellectual
substance understandable. It is therefore faster. It
makes the information units easier to compre-
hend. The facts are easier to compare to each other.
Their number is apparent at first glance, whether
they are numbered, bulleted or indented. As a re-
sult, information is presented more effectively,
details are clearly ranked, data more accessible,
and viewers can find what they are looking for
faster.

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know before you start assembling your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the writing to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in type. What you are about to read is an
example. This version, written and displayed as
running text, is the most common way of trans-
mitting factual information. There's nothing
wrong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
list, whose visible structure helps scanning. A list
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other. The very fact of
its being seen as a list makes the information more
inviting, because we know from experience that
It will be quick and easy to take in. The visual
tabulation of the list helps make the intellectual
substance understandable. It is therefore faster. It
makes the information units easier to compre-
hend. The facts are easier to compare to each other.
Their number is apparent at first glance, whether
they are numbered, bulleted or indented. As a re-
sult, information is presented more effectively,
details are clearly ranked, data more accessible,
and viewers can find what they are looking for
faster.

Running the bold phrases in color,

turns the loud tone of voice into shouting.

This IS the most obvious and expected

way of using color for ennphasis.

But look how much paler

the red words are than the black ones.

They would hardly be visible

rf they were not set in boldface.

Always bold the words to be run in color,

or make them a size larger

to compensate for the weakness of color

when compared to black.

Notice how much more powerfully

the phrases in black

contrast against the type in color.

The mass of red type is less

difficult to accept,

when it is broken up

this way. Compare it to

the all-red version

on the last right-hand page

where the redness is

unrelieved by any contrasting

black words.

Write and design
with color in mind

• Information is more inviting, since the reader
knows from experience that it will be quick and
easy to take in.

• Intellectual substance is more understandable
by its visual patterning as a menu.

• Information is easier to comprehend because it
is segmented into units.

• Facts are easy to compare to each other.

• The number of facts is available at first glance.

• Information is more effective when facts are
ranked clearly, and data are accessible.

• Viewers find what they are looking for faster.

The information is reworded
in itemized, bulleted list form.
Rewording created a parallel
verbal structure.

Its purpose: to make the material
immediately recognizeable as a list.
Lists are the fastest way
of presenting organized material.
Any organized verbal structure
can be displayed typographically.
A bulleted list is a format
the viewer accepts as "easy."

Write and design
with color in mind

• Information is more inviting, since the reader
knows from experience that it will be quick and
easy to take in.

• Intellectual substance is more understandable
by Its visual patterning as a menu.

• Information is easier to comprehend because it
is segmented into units.

• Facts are easy to compare to each other.

• The number of facts is available at first glance.

• Information is more effective when facts are
ranked clearly, and data are accessible.

• Viewers find what they are looking for faster.

The heading does indeed look
more attractive in red.
The bullets are undoubtedly
more decorative in red.
(They would look like green peas
if the color were green.)
But how does this color add
any intellectual value?
Decorating with color
like this has its place,
but it is no substitute
for logic.

Write and design
with color in mind

• Information is more inviting, since the reader
knows from experience that it will be quick and
easy to take in.

• Intellectual substance is more understandable
by its visual patterning as a menu.

• Information is easier to comprehend because it
is segmented into units.

• Facts are easy to compare to each other.

• The number of facts is available at first glance.

• Information is more effective when facts are
ranked clearly, and data are accessible.

• Viewers find what they are looking for faster.

Write and design
with color in mind

• Information is more inviting, since the reader
knows from experience that it will be quick and
easy to take in.

• Intellectual substance is more understandable
by its visual patterning as a menu.

• Information is easier to comprehend because it
is segmented into units.

• Facts are easy to compare to each other.

• The number of facts is available at first glance.

• Information is more effective when facts are
ranked clearly, and data are accessible.

• Viewers find what they are looking for faster.

Letting the boldfaced bulleted items

stand out m red gives them the

requisite noticeability.

Leaving the bullets black adds

the decorative contrast

achieved by the red bullets, opposite.

Here they are part of

the background rather

than the foreground.

They are outshouted by the words —

which IS the part that matters.

Decoration in its proper place.

Alternate version, swapping
red for black in the text.
The important phrases in black
stand out much more visibly.
The black bullets belong to them.

Write and design
with color in mind

Listing information is visually beneficial

It encourages scanning by the way it is structured
It reveals the extent of coverage at first glance
It makes information accessible by its display
It explains substance by its own patterning
It facilitates comprehension by separating facts
It allows comparison of facts to each other
It ranks details by the way they are exhibited
It presents data more efficiently by tabulation
It helps viewers find what they are looking for

The second half of the text
is rewritten and composed as a list
with the benefits shouted
as the first active words in each line.
Each element is edited down to
a concise, single-line statement.
The content makes use of visual form.
The generous line spacing makes
bullets unnecessary, specially when
all items are single-liners.
The new subhead announces
and defines the list's purpose.

Write and design
with color in mind

Listing information is visually beneficial

Popping out the heading
and the subhead in color
is pretty, but not very significant.
The color does not help to bring
the message to the viewer's
eyes or consciousness.
Nor does it hinder it.
It is just intellectually
under-used.

The hypothetical publications

V^"

illustrate how words, shape, space, and color pr:

Write and design
with color in mind

If you know before you start assembling your
thoughts that color is gomg to be available, you
can structure the organization of the %\-riting to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in rv'pe. What you are about to read is an
example. This version was written and displayed
as runnmg text, which is the most common way
of transrmttmg factual information. There s noth-
mg wTong with it, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were \NTitten as a
hst, whose visible structure helps scanning. A hst
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other.

Write and design
with color in mind

Lt you know Detore you start assembhng your
thoughts that color is going to be available, you
can structure the organization of the ^mting to
take advantage of the power that color can add to
words in t>^e. What you are about to read is an
example. This version was ^muen and displayed
as running text, which is the most common way
of transmitting factual information. There's noth-
ing \sTong with It, but it does require concentrated
study before the key points it contains are revealed.
It is therefore slower than if it were written as a
hst, whose visible structure helps scanning. A Hst
is a marriage of content with form, where the one
cannot exist without the other.

Listing information is visually beneficial

It encourages scaiming by the way it is structured
It reveals the extent of coverage at first glance
It makes information accessible by its display
It explains substance by its own patterning
It facilitates comprehension by separating facts
It allows comparison of facts to each other
It ranks details by the way they are exhibited
It presents data more efficiently by tabulation
It helps viewers find what they are looking for

Listing information is visually beneficial
It encourages scanning bv inc wav n i- suucrared
It reveals the extent of coverage at fust glance
It makes information accessible by its display
It explains substance bv its own patterning
It facilitates comprehension by separating facts
It allows comparison of facts to each other
It ranks details by the way they are exhibited
It presents data more efficiently by tabulation
It helps viewers find what they are looking for

The second line of the title,

the new subhead,

and the list of benefits

are sho\Mi in red

to dKtinguish them from

the rest of the material,

and to make them noticeabte.

':'.' ."■ -ates

•'-. "zz--^-^ oarts.

less work,

faster comprehension

correct interpretation.

The reverse of the scheme at left.

The black stands out more strongly

than the red.

However, this version runs counter

to the readers' expectations,

since the colored elements

are assumed to be the important ones.

There is just too much color

and here it is applied

to the wrong material.

Is there a "correct" solution? No.

It is all a matter of interpretation,

balance, and purpose.

Example 2: Telephone list, before

The document's own design gets In the way and Impedes Its usefulness.
It draws attention away from the information and directs It towards Itself.
The time and effort spent In embroidering it with borders, shadow-boxes,
bullets, stars, clip art. Inconsistent and illogical typographic arrangement,
and even bad spelling would have been better spent analyzing its purpose.

HELP NUMBERS

Customer Support Center (7th Floor Wing A) Extension 5000

• IMPSRODDown • Abends

• All Hardware Problems • Stuck on Clock/

• Envoy Problems Response Time

• Host Problems • Restricted/Revoked/Forgotten

• Main Frame Output Questions Password

Office Systems (14th Floor Central Building) Extension 4010

All PC Software

DataEase

Displaywrite

WordPerfect

Host Emulation Software

Problems Printing From Your

Lotus

Harvard Grapfiics

PC DOS

<•

if ^^^^^^^■^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^■^^^^ if

NOTE:

BROKEN PC TERMINAL'S, PRINTER'S, MONITOR'S, PC'S, ETC CALL EXT

5000. THEY IN TURN CALL OUTSIDE THE COMPANY.

c^YOU «^

Are Responsible For Accurately And Professionally Describing The Severity Level To Your

Contact

The purpose of the
document is to tell
the user which of
two extensions to
call for help with
computer problems.
It must be easy to
read, fast to scan,
with type large
enough to discern
when the paper is
hanging on the
tackboard over
there.

Thoughts are
rammed into
arbitrary patterns
dictated by line
length, not by
sense. Two
columns are too
narrow to allow
each Item to read
as a single line and
forces short
turnovers.

The focal points for
the piece (the
extension numbers)
are hard to find at
the end of the
sentences.

Embellishing the
picture and filling
the space with
decorative pimples,
adds nothing to the
directness and
understandability of
the piece.

Telephone list, after

The type is shaped to expose the significance of the message.
One glimpse and the meaning jumps off the page:

• rank 1 : HELP, 5000 and 4010

• rank 2: lists of problems applicable to each number

• rank 3: two footnotes

The red items are
exposed in white
space, to give
them maximal
rx3ticeability. That
is why the basic
layout is
delibefatety
off-center.
Using color
cleverly is as much
a matter of the
space in which it is
presented, as of
the choice of
thoughts it is used
to spotlight— or in
which typeface
and typesize they
will be set.

Space IS used

judciousty. not
wasted on
framing... whatever
IS left can be
larger, more
powerful.

Help numbers

IMSPROD down

All hardware problems

Envoy problems

Host problems

Mainframe output questions

Abends

Stuck on clock, response time

Restricted, revoked, forgotten passwords

X 5000 CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER (7th FLOOR, WING A)

Each thought is
given a single line,
fostering fast
comprehension.

Type IS used to
categorize the
information:
Franklin Gothic for
telephone-onented
facts. Garamond
for user-onented
problems.
Tiny type for
footnotes.

All PC software
DataBase
Displaywrite
WordPerfect
Host emulation software
Problems printing from your PC
Lotus

Harvard Graphics
PC DOS
X 4010 OFFICE SYSTEMS (14th FLOOR, CENTRAL BUILDING)

Broken PC terminals, printers, monitors, PCs, etc. call ext. 5000.
They, in turn, call outside the Company.

You are responsible for describing accurately and professionally
the severity level to your contact.

Example 3: Newsletter, before

The original version of this appalling disaster has only been changed to hide the names of the perpetrators.

The underlying problem: seeing each Item as a separate bit, unrelated to Its neighbors.

Refusing to see the page as an entity turns It Into a wastebasket of odds-and-ends.

The lack of coordination results in exaggerations, in order to make various parts noticeable.

Space (i.e. paper) Is reduced to fallow impotent background.

Working Together

Helping You Find The Right Combination For Successful Cooperation

A NEWSLETTER FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR GETTING MORE DONE

FEBRUARY 1795

Study Shows Management
Can Improve Output

From Our Special Correspondent

f ecent years have shown
how important it is for the
lanagement team that
organizes work flow to pay atten-
tion to the wishes and prefer-
ences of the people who are ac-
tually going to be faced with do-
ing the work they get paid to do,
(though everyone agrees that the
rate of remuneration for such la-
bor is not merely laughable but
insulting) if output is ever to ex-
ceed the attainable goals set in
the previous five-year-plans and
which have been frustrated over
(continued on page 4)

f Chnstophor Valenan
Knotty problem symbolizes complexity facin

•e Normal Organizatioi

ward the success of their bottom

(Continued on Page 4)

AAPGTM: Inevitable Need for Compliance Next FY

Editor's Note: This is the second
and last of a series of articles
on the subject of the AAPGTM.

In this article, which is the second
and last of a series in which we
will be considering the AAPGTM
and its effect on the working con-
ditions of the typical working em-
ployee in organizations of over 250
employees, we will have to face

the fact that the Government has
called for 100% compliance by the
and of the current fiscal year. This
is going to create diffi-
culties for many orga-
nizations who have to
fulfill the needs of their
own production
schedules while simul-
taneously looking to-

Inside

0 Choosing Wet-weather Gear... p.3

# Preventing Dangerous Falls. 5

# Savings Society Result Z5%
Loss. 6

The self-conscious
nameplate (or logo) is
burled by competing
words that crackle like
visual static.

The rule above the date
and volume number is
a torture rack to stretch
them on, poor things.

Centering the headline
IS the weakest way to
give It attention— as is
the lightness of type.
Smaller and bolder is
more effective. Three
more words, too!

Since nothing aligns,
nothing belongs.
Besides, it looks messy.

Caption overplays the
photo credit, and revels
in that avirful widow:
"gement." This is not
well crafted. It does not
inspire confidence in
the viewer/reader who
IS tempted to think:
"Humph, if they are
satisfied with this sort
of mess, It IS likely that
their message is lust as
shoddy "

Bold rule to divide
elements should not be
necessary. It just adds
more ink.

Upper-and-lower case
of heads is harder to
read than all lowercase.
Look how much more
aggressive and uglier it
IS, too.

Newsletter, after

Direct, accessible information: Who is it? What's the big news? What's secondary?

This is not the result of theoretical aesthetics but of practical work: defining information-units.

The items are organized into self-contained, rectangular, recognizeable groups.

Space is tightened within each unit, but broad moats separate the groups from each other.

Typography is simplified, because excessive variety is not merely unnecessary, but distracting.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR
GETTING MORE DONE

WORKING TOGETHER

HELPING YOU FIND THE RIGHT COMBINATION FOR SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION

Study shows management could start
improving output immediately

Recent years ha\e shown how
important it is for the manage-
ment team that organizes work
flow to pay attention to the
wishes and preferences of the
people who are actually going
to be faced with doing the work
they get paid to do, (though
everyone agrees that the rate
of remuneration for such la-
bor is not merely laughable
but insulting) if output is e\ l r
to exceed the attainable go.i.s
set in the previous five-\e-
plans and which have Ix

frustrated over (continued on page -l

AAPGTM: Inevitable need for compliance next FY

Editor's Note

This is the second and last of
a series of articles on the subject
of the AAPGTM

In this article, which is the sec-
ond and last of a series in which
we will be considering the
AAPGTM and its effect on the
working conditions of the typical

working employee in organiza-
tions of over 250 employees, we
will have to face the fact that the
Government has called for 100%
compliance by the and of the cur-
rent fiscal year. This is going to
create difficulties for many orga-
nizations who have to fulfill the
needs of their own production
schedules while simultaneously

looking toward the success of
their bottom lines and the satis-
faction of the shareholders. The
text had ended just before the
word shareholders. All this copy
is added to the original. You have
to stop wasting space on the
wrong stuff: too many useless
spaces between things and type
too pale and too large. It works.

Choosing wet-weather gear Preventing dangerous falls Savings Society result 2% loss

Example 4: Intet^office memo, before

What's wrong with it? Nothing — and everything.

It is typical of its kind: unimaginative and unresponsive to the reader's needs.
The sender assumes the recipient will welcome its arrival and bother to study it.
Would you?

Attention Registration Coordinators

The two segments
of the head
(Attention! Who?)
lool< the same,
with Cute But Useles

ographic

Embellishment.

Monotonous.

FEE RATE INCREASES EFFEOIVE 01 / 01 / 95

1 ) $60.00 ExaminaHon Fee For All Registered Representative Examinations.

2) $75.00 Examination Fee For All Registered Principal Examinations.

3) $1 5.00 Fee For Printing Fingerprints.

Begin submitting these increased fees by the date on which increases are scheduled.

EXAMINATION WAITING PERIOD

Effective November 31 1 994, Candidates v^o fail an NARPM examination must wait thirty (30) days
before the examination can be retaken. After the third and subsequent attempts, the Representative must
wait one hundred-and-eighty (180) days between examinations. NOTE: This does not apply to the
Series 10097.4R-PM examination, as it is only administered on a monthly basis.

TRANSFER-FORM REQUIREMENTS

Effective September 01 / 94, the NARPM requires Employers to provide TERMINATING employees with
a copy of the filed MP-5/0J. Therefore we are now required to obtain a copy of MP-5/0J from the most
recent employer on TRANSFERRED employees. Please submit the MP-5/01 J together with the MP-4/
OJ, 1 2-47 and all other Employee Registration Forms.

STATE REGULATION CHANGES

MN: Fee Changes Effective November 31 / 93: Registration $30.00. Renewal $ 30.00. Transfer
$30.00

GA: The October 21 Series 10097.4 RPM Examinations Will Be Held at the Ramada Inn Southwest,
1-85 and Sougatuck Road, 1 3500 SW Expv/y, Atlanta.

Headings are pale
and wan,
illegible because
they are in all-caps,
hidden because
they are centered
and no bolder than
the text type.

Overall blandness
of emphasis.
Nothing stands out.
Each item looks
equally important.

Looks untidy
because
spaces between
elements vary.

Dashed rules add
complexity.
More ink on the page
does not necessarily
make it better.

Hard to read,
because lines
are much too long.

Arbitrary and
inconsistent
use of all-caps
in some words,
capitalized initials
in others.

Dark type
makes it
dingy and
depressing.

cc: Administrative Supervisor

Inter^office memo, after

The target audience is alerted to its special concerns by boldness, size and placement.
It IS easy to scan, and reads better, faster. (Text was also edited to be less stilted.)
Color has been used to add first-glance value: it is the visual clue that prompts
those to whom the message is addressed to pay attention to that one critical item
you want them to notice first.

Attention registration coordinators

Rate increases for examination fees

Effective January 1 , 1 995, please submit tfie follow
$ 60.00 for all registered representative exams
$ 75.00 for oil registered principal exams
$ 15.00 for fingerprinting

g fees:

Examination waiting periods

Effective November 3 1 1 994, candidates who foil on NARPM exam

must waif 30 days before retaking he examination.

After the tfiird attempt, the waiting period is 1 80 days.

(This does not apply to Series 1 0097.4R-PM exams, odministered monthly)

Transfer-form requirements

Effective September 1 , 1 994, NARPM requires employers to provide
terminating employees with a copy of their filed MP-50J. We are now
required to obtain a copy of this form from the most recent employer on
transferred employees. Please submit it with the MP-4/QJ, 1 2-47 and
other registration forms.

State regulation changes and announcements

MN: Registration, renewal, end transfer fees will be increased to $30.00
as of November 3 1 1993.

GA: The October 21, 1 993 Series 1 0097.4 RPM examinotions

will be held at Romada Inn Southwest, 1-85 and Sougatuck Rood,
1 3500 SW Expwy, Atlanta.

Example 5: Policy cover, before

Policies are expected to be unresponsive and impossible to read. Their unfriendly reputation is
well deserved: they have been written and assembled for the company's, not the recipient's, '
convenience. Suspicious customers worry about "the small type."
They must be humanized— but this example assumes that the language is legally sacred,
and only its form is malleable. Can such a grey mass be made penetrable?

"Life is for Living"

THE ESURIENT

INSURANCE

COMPANY

A Mutual Company Incorporated in 1867

Home Office: Esurient Tower, Westbury, Connecticut

Name of Insured Polonius H. MacBeth
Face Amount $ 5,000,000.00
PoUcy Number FPAL 000-35-67859

42 Age of Insured

February 30, 1994 Policy Date

June 31,1994 Dateof Issue

FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ADJUSTABLE LIFE INSURANCE POLICY

Adjustable Death Benefit Payable At Death Prior To Maturity Date •- See Death Benefit On Page 6.

Cash Values Equal To Or Greater Than Those Required By Law

Maturity Proceeds, If Any, Payable On Maturity Date

Flexible Premiums Payable To Maturity Date Or Prior Death

THIS IS A NON-PARTICIPATING POUCY AND IS NOT EUGEBLE FOR DIVIDENDS

WE AGREE to pay the death proceeds to the Beneficiary if the Insured dies before Maturity Date and while this policy is in force.
We agree to pay any maturity proceeds to you if the Insured is living on the Maturity Date and this policy is in force.These agreements
are subject to the terms of tnis policy.

PLEASE READ this policy carefully. It is a legal contract between you and our company.

NOTICE OF TWENTY DAY RIGHT to examine this policy. It is important to us that you are satisfied with this policy. You have
20 days after you receive it to decide if it meets with your needs. If you are not satisfied, you may return the policy to us or to our
agent. If the piolicy is received or postmarked before midnight of the 20th day after it was delivered to you, we will cancel it and any
premiums paid will be refunded.

SIGNED FOR the Esurient Insurance Company of Westbury, Connecticut, on the Date of Issue.

/iaaJV^"

,^K^^

Four segments of
information must be
accommodated:

• Who are we,
the company?

• Who are you?

• What IS It about?

• What do we
contract to do?

Here they swim into
each other... but that
does not matter: after
all, we The Company,
are familiar with this
material and know
what we are looking
at and what it is for.
and the form is for
us, not you.

The customer needs
the segments
demarcated.
Each segment must
also be easy to read,
at the very least.

Look at the self-im-
portant upper-and-
lowercasing of the
text: It is nearly as
off-putting as the
ridiculously long
lines of tiny type
that are so unfriendly
as to inhibit anyone
but the most
dedicated from
reading them.
The suspicion
grows: maybe the
company is not
anxious to have this
material understood?
Obviously that is not
the intention. Yet the
visual presentation
carries that subtle
implication which
creates the wrong
impression in the
one person who
should be happy
and comfortable:
the customer.

Policy cover, after

The information is broken into units, separated by space and rules. The Insured's data
is concentrated in a quick-scan list. All available vertical space is used, to allow lines
to be shorter. And color helps the customers find what they want to know immediately:
Who is this document from. . . whom is it for. . . what is it about. . . what's-in-it-for-me?

The list of subjects
of the agreement
IS highlighted. This
IS what the
customer is buying.

The logo is filled
with color— since
the available color
happens to match
the company's
standard hue. If It
does not match
exactly, it is better
to use a neutral
pale grey, and
resen/e color to
draw attention to
the elements that
are more important
than identification:
the customer's
concerns.

The rules and box
give structure to
the page and
define the four
elemenls it
contains

Type details are
simpler, clearer.
giving greater
contrast to those
parts that need
to be emphasized.

Vanable information,
such as the name.
age etc stand out:
a flattenng gesture
making Mr.McBeth
feel as though tfie
Company cared
for him as an
individual, (which
they may well do).
It IS good business
for all concerned
to make that
attitude obvious.

THE ESURIENT

INSURANCE

COMPANY

A MUTUAL COMPANY INCORPORATED IN 1867
HOME OFFICE ESURIENT TOWER. WESTBURY, CONNECTICUT

Name of insured : PoloniuS H. McBeth
Age of insured : 42
Face amount: $5,000,000.00

Policy date : February 30,1994

Policy number: FPAL 000-35-67859
Date of issue: June 31,1994

FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ADJUSTABLE LIFE INSURANCE POUCY
Adjustable death benefit payable at death prior to maturity date. (See Death benefit on page 6.)
Cash values equal to or greater than those required by law.

.Maturity proceeds, if any, payable on maturity date.

Flexible premiums payable to maturity date or prior death

This is a non-partidpating policy and is not eligible for dividends.

e agree to pay the death proceeds to the benefidary if the insured dies before maturity
date and while this policy is in force. We agree to pay any maturity proceeds to you if the
insured is living on the maturity date and this policy is in force. These agreements are subject
to the terms of this policy.

Please read this policy carefully. It is a legal contract between you and our company.

Notice of twenty-day right to examine this policy. It is important to us that you are satisfied
with this policy. You have twenty days after you receive it to decide if it meets with your
needs. If you are not satisfied, you may return the policy to us or to our agent. If the policy
is received or postmarked before midnight of the twentieth day after it was delivered to you,
we will cancel it and any premiums paid will be refunded.

Signed for EsuBJENT Insurance Company of Westbury, Connecticut, on the date of issue.

Example 6: Flyer, before

Invitation to attend a convention: is it a professional occasion or a chance for whoopee?

First impression: what a mess — can it be valuable to one's career?

Second impression: why is the future looking so depressing? (Look at the graph).

Third impression: is this organization's thinking as crude and primitive as it is here represented?

Resulting worry: is this piece doing justice to the organization that sent it out?

INHLAJAI

10th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY 29-31, 1994

THE OSTENTIA-MAJESTIC & AUTOCHTON HOTELS, PIERIA, ML

ESSENTIALS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ELECTRONIC PAYMENT

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS BORROWING VS INVESTMENT
INTERNATIONAL TOPICS CAPITAL MARKETS

CONTEMPORARY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATORY SUBJECTS
CAREER DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL PRICING/SERVICES

COLLECTIONS SYSTEMS MONETARY FORECASTING

PAYMENT SYSTEMS

NON-CREDIT SERVICES

INTEREST RATES

MARKET

CREDIT

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

National Hypothetical Lucre Management Association

A NON-PROFIT PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION

Three elements make
up this confusing
image:

1 . Who are we?

2. What's happening?

3. Why should you
bother to attend—
what's in it for you?

They are all muddled
and intertwined
together.

Instead of clarifying
the groups of ideas, to
make the piece not only
inviting but persuasive,
It has been decorated
and "laid out" with
superficial
embellishment.

The symbolic graph
interrupts and appears
to point downwards—
to failure.

The word FOCUS
IS inside a symbolic
magnifying glass that
emphasizes the wrong
concept: it isn't the
focus that matters
but rather subject
of Risk.

And the word RISK
is at a funny angle
because the computer
can do it.

The seminar subjects
are set in illegible
all-caps, boxed into an
arbitrary pattern.

Upshot: the viewer
is not guided by the
piece, but is left to hop
and skip around trying
to make head or tail of
this insult. It is all based
on the arrogant
assumption that the
recipients will be so
intrigued that they
will not mind wasting
their precious time
deciphering it.

Flyer, after

The organization's nanne and function are identified with dignity.
The event is identified, dated, and located at first glance.
The details are easily scanned.
The special (nsk-related) subjects highlighted.

NHLMA

NATIONAL HYPOTHETICAL LUCRE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

.<.SO.S PROFIT [ROFEsMO.VM OkG\NIZ.MION

Tenth

annual

conference

The Ostentia-Majestic

and

Autochton Hotels

Plena, ML.

February 29-31, 1994

Essentials of financial management
Electronic payment
Investment management systems
Borrowing vs. investment

International topics

Capital markets

Contemporary financial management

Regulatory subjects

Career development

Financial pricing/services

Collections systems

Monetary forecasting

Focus: risk

Payment systems

Non-credit sei-vices

Credit

Foreign exchange

Example 7: Work schedule, before

Here is a simple presentation of related facts: a sequence of ten actions or events
coordinated with the thirteen weeks scheduled for their completion.
Its purpose: a quick overview. Word-processing equipment limits type size and line weight
to monotonous grey, and thus the tone of voice with which the piece speaks.

WORK SCHEDULE

WORK STAGES & TASKS

ST^RT ^EE^s 1

-1

Team Arrrval and
Logistics Buildup

STAGE 1

• Task 1 -Analyze legal,
social, and institutional
framework affecting
refining

• Task 2-Review
objectives in sector

• Task 3-Review key
international tendencies

STAGE II

• Task 4— Conduct diag-
nostic review

• Task 5-Review finan-
cial valuation

STAGE III

• Task 6— Develop
industry strategy

• Task 7— Develop nego-
tiaging strategy

STAGE IV

• Task 8-Complete and
document strategy

i^ "

""
->

• Negotiation back-up
as specifically requested

LEGEND: ^ Presentation or Progress Meeting Jk. Final Report

What is this?
The title and Exhibit III
line are not
noticeable at first

The list of actions,
broken into stages
and tasks, is nigh on
indecipherable
without careful
concentration and
analysis. The bullets
add no clues. They
just indicate the fact
that this is a list. That
fact IS obvious fronn
the material itself, so
they are superfluous.

The space devoted
to the diagram is
wider than its simple
substance needs,
and so the text is
squeezed into a
column that is too
narrow. That is why
the information
contained in the text
is not visibly
tabulated, but is,
instead, a heavy
reading-job.

The handling lacks
finesse, imagination,
emphasis, or visual
expressiveness
that can guide the
viewer through the
raw data to
understanding its
implications. That
is what IS meant by
"boring."

Work scheduleg after

The redesign tabulates the written information for clear oversight. Condensed type leaves ample room
to accommodate the diagram. Color is used to define the special area of interest to one segment
of the audience, it is highlighted so they not only notice it immediately, but also are guided
to follow the visual and intellectual sequence from left to right and upward, or the other way round.

B<HIB^3 WORK SCHEDULE

Work stages and tasks

logistics buildup

1 Analyze legal, social,
institutional framework
affecting refining

2 Review objectives
in sector

3 Review key

international tendencies

4 Conduct

diagnostic reviews

5 Review financial
valuation parameters

6 Develop

industry strategy

7 Develop

negotiating strategy

4 8 Complete and document
industry strategy

Negotiation back-up
as specifically requested

A Presentation or progress meeting

Example 8: Poster, before

A simple list of bulleted items needs to be made important and highly visible.

The text is split into units, each item placed in its own casket.

The coffins are stacked up the middle of the page. The very large size of the very wide type

in boxes that are too short forces some phrases into two lines which read badly and look worse.

GATEKEEPING GUIDEUNES

• Be open to and encourage
ideas

• Look for nierit in the ideas

• Strive for win-win situation

• Listen non-defensively

• Pay attention, avoid side
conversations

• Limit war stories

• Look for fods

• Help to summarize

• Be responsible for team's
progress

Poster, after

A large area of color is stronger than a cluster of little ones.

Its very size helps to attract the eye, especially if the color is friendly and cheerful.

Ramped color guides the viewer smoothly downward from the heading to the individual items.

Color helps to fulfill the poster's purpose of inspiring and instructing.

Breaking the fifth
item into two
makes each
short enough to
fit into one line.

Using a condensed
type makes lines
shorter, so words fit
into the space.
Using a tx)lder
version of the face
makes the message
stronger.

Separating the units
with hairlines creates
dramatic contrast of
light to dark.

Gatekeeping guidelines

^ Be open and encourage ideas
^ Look for merit in tlie ideas

Making the hairlines
the same width ties
them to the bold
rule above the title.

^ Strive for win-win situation

The deep indent of
the text creates a
space up the left-
hand edge which
acts as a foil to the
first part of the word
"Gatekeeping."
That, as well as the
moat of space
beneath it, helps it
stand out and gives
It the dignity and
power that a
heading needs.

"^ Listen non-defensively

^ Pay attention

^ Avoid side conversations

"^ Limit war stories

^ Loolc for facts

^ Help to summarize

^ Be responsible for team's progress

Technicalities about color

What is color? All cows look black at night because there is no light. Color is an eftect
created by light. Where there is no light, there is no color.

Light is a form of energy traveling in waves. It is part of the electromag-
netic spectrum which consists of waves of different lengths. Only a
small group of them are visible to humans. The invisible ones are radio
waves, microwaves. X-rays and so on. The spectrum of visible ones —
"white" light — is composed of a rainbow of color bands: red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. (That is what Sir Isaac Newton proved
when he refracted a beam of white light through a prism.)

Each color of the visible spectrum has its own wavelength. We respond
to those ranging from red (long, 700 nanometers) to violet (short, about
360 nm). Wavelengths combined in correct proportions produce white
light. White light contains all visible colors.

Each individual sees differently and therefore the interpretation of color,
like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The physiology of color per-
ception is not yet fully understood and measuring individual interpreta-
tion IS an inexact science. Abnormal vision is easier to define. 8% of
men but only 1 % of women are color-deficient to some degree, usually
red/green. But it is also a proven fact that peoples' sensitivity to yellow
increases in winter. It then changes to sensitivity to green in summer.
Further to complicate matters, sensitivity to color decreases with age in
most individuals. So we are dealing with an obscure and variable factor.

The colors we perceive depend on the strength and mixture of wave-
lengths striking the receptors in our eyes. The incoming light is trans-
formed into neural impulses by the cones and rods that make up the
receptors. The 6 milion cones are concentrated towards the center of
the retina. They are responsible for sharp vision and color perception.
Nearly two-thirds of them contain photopigments sensitive to red
lightwaves, one-third to green, and a few (2%) to blue/violet. They are
surrounded by 1 20 million rods which are sensitive to black-and-white
and help us see in the dark. The impulses travel to the brain through the
optic nerve.

The brain interprets the impulses from various combinations of red,
green, and blue/violet as "colors." Red and green stimulated together,
for instance, produce the effect of yellow. The physical way in which the
eye works makes some colors easier to see than others. There are also
some combinations of hues and values that irritate the eye and are
therefore unpleasant and tiring.

Since the retina is sensitive to red and green in the center, with grey and
blue around the periphery, it is wise to place the most important ele-
ment in the center and use red and green there, especially in slides and
displays. If you put red or green elements on the periphery, draw addi-
tional attention to them by increasing their size, using a blinking light,
placing amusing cartoon symbols there, etc. By the same token, blue
or grey are successful background field colors precisely because
those are colors that react equally throughout the eye. For that reason,
it is unwise to run text or small details in blue.

To be discerned most vividly, shape and color should blend and work
together. Eyes tend to notice the edges of what they are looking at.
The edges, in turn, bring the image into focus. We also recognize ob-
jects by their outline, their contours. It is not certain whether this is an
innate human characteristic or whether it is accultured, but when you
draw a dog or a house, you — and just about everybody else — draws
the outline. The shape is the recognizeable icon that symbolizes the

object. Color helps to define elements most effectively when the edge of
its shape is clearly demarcated from its neighbor and, simultaneously,
clearly differs from it in both hue and value.

Color is only reflected Objects have no color of their own. A cucumber appears
green to us because it absorbs all the light waves that strike it except
the green ones. Those it reflects and they bounce into our eyes and so
we say "what a beautiful green ripe cucumber." All solid objects have
their particular color because they reflect only the wavelengths corre-
sponding to that color and absorb all the others. In a sense, color is
actually a "rejected" material. It is wasted, and white most of all; ob-
jects look white because they reflect all wavelengths equally.

Limeade appears green to us for the same reasons, despite the fact
that it is not solid. The light passes through the liquid, and all wave-
lengths except green are absorbed. Only the green wavelength is trans-
mitted through and by it to our eyes, so we see refreshing, cool limeade.

Additive color (RGB) Colors produced by light energy are additive. The source of
light (the sun, lightbulb, candle etc) is the source of additive energy. The
more colors are added, the lighter the image becomes until pure white
light appears— if the colors are in balance.

The primary colors of the visible spectrum are Bed, Green, and Blue/
violet. They are called primary, because all other colors can be pro-
duced by combining or adding them in various proportions. The colors
seen on your monitor's CRT tube are additive. They are created by
bombarding three kinds of phosphorus (red, green and blue/violet) with
an electron beam.

Combining the three primaries in certain proportions produces white.

Combining two primaries produces a secondary:
Red and blue/violet produce magenta.
Green and blue/violet produce cyan.
Green and red produce yellow.

Subtractive color (CMY) Colors produced by subtracting energy are subtractive.
Color reflected by an object is subtractive because it absorbs (i.e. sub-
tracts) all the wavelengths from the light that hits it except the ones
which it reflects and which distinguish the object and makes us see the
cucumber as being green.

Pigments, paints, toners, printing inks are all "subtractive." The more
colors are added, the darker the image, until black is produced.

The subtractive colors of the process printing inks (CMYK) are picked

and balanced to match the additive colors:

Cyan is made of blue/violet and green (and absorbs red)
Magenta is made of red and blue/violet (and absorbs green)
yellow is made of red and green (and absorbs blue/violet)

Combining two secondaries produces the tertiary color they share::
Cyan plus yellow create green.
Magenta plus yellow create red.
Magenta plus cyan create blue/violet.

CMYK IS tfie sequence in which most desktop

YMCKTih^""^ uence in wtirch desi ners and ^' blBcK is added to the C, M, and Y in process printing to add
printers have tradition^ woiiked. b^u^Tis definition to details and Strengthen shadow areas. K is used to avoid
a^^'^i/^^*Sf^"'^'*^^^°^^^'^°'°'^ confusing* it with "Blue" sometimes used instead of the word "cyan."

Dimensions of color Color has three "dimensions" or characteristics:

1. Hue: the basic color of the color. Its redness, blueness, greenness.
Every color has its dominant wavelength which gives it its brownness,
pinkness, purpleness.

2. Value: the luminance or lightness/darkness of a color measured
against a scale of white to black. Its light-orangeness as compared to
its dark-orangeness. How much whiteness or blackness is added to the
hue. The light end of the scale is "high," the dark end "low."

3. Chroma: the purity or brightness of a color, its Intensity or satura-
tion. The same blue can be pure and vivid, or muted, dirty and greyish.
The background against which a color is seen affects its apparent
saturation: a bright color surrounded by a duller version of the same
color looks saturated, but it is brilliant on a field of its complementary.

Definition and naming of colors Monitor screens which produce color by combin-
ing the light from red, green and blue phosphorus, show 16.7 million
different hues. (The red, green and blue are each subdivided into 256
shades. So: 2563= 16,700,000.)

How do we distinguish them all? Giving them names? What precisely is
meant by "Toast"? Rye, wholewheat, or pumpernickel? Burned or just
light? A more accurate definition has been devised: measuring wave-
lengths by a spectrophotometer (which measures the amount of radiant
energy reflected from an object in each wavelength band of the visible
spectrum) and matching a color by a colorimeter.

The internationally-accepted standard for describing color accurately is
the CIE triangle. It was established in 1931 by the the Commission
Internationale de I'Eclairage (International Commission on Illumination).
The chromatlclty diagram positions colors in relation to their wave-
lengths which are described in three-digit numbers in nanometers (nm).
They define the chromaticity by three values: the intensity of the light
(luminance), its hue, and its saturation.

This precise measurement is a dependable definition making it possible
to compare colors under any circumstances, no matter what form they
may take — additive or subtractive, fresh or faded swatch, natural or
artificial, paint, dye, ink, or toner etc.

Perception of color Nothing about color is static. Everything varies, affected by:

1. Lighting conditions Colors change, depending on the bright-
ness of the light. They turn duller and darker as daylight fades into
twilight and darkness.

The light under which a white object is looked at affects the kind of
whiteness we see:

• Under north light at noon, it would be bluish, because that
kind of light is rich in the blue end of the spectrum.

• Under candlelight, it would be yellowish.

• Under an incandescent bulb it would be more reddish be-
cause that is rich in the red end of the spectrum.

A practical application: incandescent light emphasizes reds, yellows
and greens and so makes vegetables look nice, whereas fluorescent
light emphasizes blues and cyans that make vegetables frozen and
unappetizing.... what kind of lighting do canny supermarket managers
use and where?

Always take the ambient light into account when matching colors. They

may match perfectly under one light source, but not under another.
The technical term for this phenomenon is metameric color shift.

2. The background color The colors in the vicinity affect the way
the observed color is perceived. The relationships are vitally important,
because colors are relative to each other. For instance:

• Dark colors appear darker on a light background than they
do on a darker one.

• Mixing complemetary colors in equal amounts, weakens
them and grays them down.

• Complementary colors placed next to each other reinforce
each other and if they are of the same value, hurt the eye.

3. The paper The paper is the light-source in printing. Light strikes
It and IS reflected off its surface to the viewer's eyes. It shines through
the three transparent process color inks.

The texture of the surface affects the appearance of the color. The
smoother and glossier it is, the brighter and more brilliant the hues look.
The same ink printed on a rough texture appears duller because the
rough surface scatters the reflected light from the paper, so paling
down the appearance of the color. It not only dulls it, but can even alter
the appearance of the hue. The smoother and glossier the surface, the
more brilliant the effect of the glossy colored inks printed on it. Laser
paper is manufactured with a smooth surface specifically to bring out
the best detail and quality of laser printing in both the dense blacks and
zesty colors by holding the toner particles while withstanding the heat.

The most accurate color reproduction is achieved on paper that reflects
light without altering its quality. Such a sheet is said to be balanced
white. If the paper absorbs some wave lengths more than others, it is
unbalanced, and appears to be tinted or colored. It will change the
effect that process color inks will make. That is why printing with color
on colored stock is so unpredictable. Always run tests to make sure
your result will be satisfactory.

Reproducing color Mechanical, technical and chemical limitations of the printing
process make it impossible to reproduce the full range of colors pre-
cisely. The very light and very dark shades are specially difficult.

When transparent inks are overlapped, intermediate colors are pro-
duced. Opaque inks do not produce intermediate colors when they
overlap, since they do not allow the light to pass through them, but
reflect it instead.

Printing pictures in color A continuous tone original is an image such as a photo-
graph or painting whose color changes in imperceptibly-small steps
from dark to light. To be made printable, the continuous tone must be
transformed into a halftone. Grey is produced by mixing solid black
dots with white reflected from the paper between the dots. The more
white (the smaller the dots), the lighter the illusion of grey. The less
white, (the bigger the dots), the darker the grey appears. Black has no
white showing through, because it is 1 00% coverage or solid.

A traditional halftone is made by re-photographing the original through
a screen which breaks the image into a dot pattern. The finer the
screen (i.e. the greater the screen ruling), the finer the dots, the better
the resolution, and therefore the finer the quality of detail. Screen rul-
ings vary from the typical coarse newspaper screen of 85 Ipi (or lines
per inch— I.e. lines of dots) to 133 Ipi used in printing normal maga-

zines. Process color printing requires four halftones (one each for bel-
low, Magenta, Cyan and blacK). Printed on top of each other, they
create the impression of colors.

A computer-created iiaiftone is not created by varying the size of dots.
Instead, it is created by controlling cells, which consist of grids of indi-
vidual dots that are either on (black) or off (white). The more are "on,"
the darker does the "gray" appear. At 635 dpi (dots per inch) output,
each halftone cell of a 133 Ipi (lines per inch) screen consists of 16
pixels (4 X 4) each of which can be either on or off, thus yielding 16
shades of grey. High quality digital halftones should be scanned at
double the printed halftone lines-per-inch. For instance at 150 Ipi (lines
per inch), the scanning resolution should be 300 dpi.

Ditliering can produce additional shades, patterns and fills as well as
color halftones, where smooth and gradual transition from shade
to shade is required. Various formulas for dithering have been devel-
oped by software manufacturers.

Color separations The original continuous tone color image is divided into its con-
stituent process colors by scanning. The electronic scanner calculates
the percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow and black that each tiny area
of the original consists of and creates four separate sheets of film, from
which the final printing plates are made.

The four films must be carefully registered to fit perfectly. They are
made by traditional color separators, service bureaus, or on desktop
using programs such as Adobe's Photoshop or Letraset's ColorStudio.
Combining several subjects into a single page requires stripping: physi-
cally assembling all the bits of film, cutting them, and attaching them to
a bearing sheet— for each of the four colors. Obviously, that is an exact-
ing, meticulous (and expensive) hand process, unless it is done by
electronic pre-press.

The three kinds of color originals:

• Digitized images and/or video already digitized into pixels
(or pels — picture elements). However, their resolution

is coarser than that required for good printing.

• Transparencies: continuous tone photographs, easy to

scan.

• Reflection copy: color prints of photographs, artists' render-
ings such as paintings, watercolors etc., which have to be
photographed as transparencies in preparation for scan-
ning. The traditional camera-separations are now used for
special projects.

Moire and rosettes Moire is an unintended pattern when geometric patterns (such
as dot-screens of black atop a color) are superimposed on top of each
other. It is distracting to see stars where smooth color should be.

Angling the screens properly can avoid it. Traditional four-color process
dots are placed at standard angles: cyan at 15°, magenta at 75°, yel-
low at 0°, and black at 45°. Prepress computers often use algorithms
that slightly alter these angles to compensate for the type of laser dot
the systems generate. Desktop angles are normally black at 0°, cyan at
30°, magenta at 60°, and yellow at 75°.

Rosettes combine dots of the different process colors in such a way that
the human eye is fooled into combining them to "see" them as close to
the continuous tone from which the separation was made.

Trapping color Even the highest-quality printing is an inexact process: the moving

parts of the press or the motion of the paper itself, cannot be controlled
beyond a certain point. Paper stretches, humidity affects shrinl<age,
speed demands compromises, ink formulations vary, color sequences
give differing effects, presses are all different... Though it is amazing
how accurate the new processes have become, perfection is not at-
tainable. That is why you sometimes see white gaps between colors
that should be touching. To prevent this unsightly unintended sliver, a
technique called trapping has been evolved. In traditional work, the
image is made a fraction larger than the window into which it is to fit, so
the contiguous elements actually overlap. In electronic page makeup,
the same problem is called shrink, spread, skinny, fatty, choke.

Proofing colors Fact: what you see in the original transparency can only be approxi-
mated in print. Fact: the colors you see on your screen can not be
duplicated in hard copy. There are two common proofing techniques
that let you see what you are likely to get:

• Overiay system (such as 3M's Color Key) consists of four
acetate sheets, one each for the C, M, Y and K compo-
nent, overiaid on a white backing sheet.

• Single-laminate sheet (such as duPont's Cromalin, or 3M's
Matchprint) combines the four layers into single sheets.

Temper your expectations when checking proofs. A few suggestions:

1 . Look for credibility, whether the result makes sense with the effect
you are trying to communicate. The best printing is merely an ap-
proximation of reality. Perfect match is impossible to achieve.

2. Look for overall color balance.

3. Check for details in the highlight and shadow areas.

4. Evaluate flesh tones for realism.

5. Look for neutral greys and wood tones for realism.

6. Make sure the whites and highlights are sparkly and bright.

Color palettes Four-color separations are made electronically with different tech-
niques. The commonest:

• RGB (red/green/blue),

• HSB (Hue/saturation/brightness, sometimes also called
HLS hue/luminance/saturation),

• CMYK (cyan/magenta/yellow/black) and

• Palette color (a fixed library of colors, usually 256).

RGB and HSB are generally used for scanned images since scanners
capture information in RGB format. However, final output must be in
CMYK to make it printable. Conversion is necessary. But the programs
are often not compatible resulting in confusion as well as disappoint-
ment. Use CMYK specifications wherever possible. All you can do with
scanned images is hope for the best.

Matching colors Do not expect the additive colors on screen to be matched pre-
cisely by the subtractive colors in print. The two modalities may look
similar but they are not the same, and despite efforts in software-calcu-
lations, they can never be identical. Inaccuracy in calibration, differing
lighting conditions and other uncontrollable unpredictable problems
prevent it.

The screen is bound to look brighter because it is back-lit, so the colors
cannot help but sparkle more vividly. Besides, the printing process itself
is incapable of reproducing the subtleties the eye can discern in the
original version of the subject. Nor can its infinite variables such as
humidity, paper surface absorptivity, variety of presses or copiers etc
etc be controlled. That is why sensible compromise is required.

Tint-builds vs PIVIS colors There is a big difference between flat color (spot color,
highlight color, second color) and four-color process. Flat color is an ink
or toner using specially-mixed hues to produce one specific color, not
process colors. That is the kind of precisely matched color needed in
logos, for instance, where exact color matching is often crucial to the
corporate identity program.

Such mixed-ink colors were the foundation for the PMS, Pantone
Matching System®. Its formulas for proprietary ink mixtures were
coordinated with colored papers, markers, overlay films, etc., and
gained worldwide acceptance as a dependable means of communica-
tion about color.

However, PMS colors are not the same as CMYK colors. PMS colors
must be transformed into CMYK tint builds. Matching a color by tint
build out of percentages of the four process colors (cyan, magenta,
yellow, plus black) is possible. However, such simulation cannot be
absolutely accurate, especially in the lighter or darker hues, nor can the
color effect ever be as intense or as vivid. The brighter and cleaner the
color, the more difficult does it become to match it in tint builds. The
dirtier the color, the easier it is to match.

To ensure perfect match, a mixed ink (specified as a PMS color or any
other commercially available system) has to be used on a separate
cylinder on press. Obviously, a five-color press is needed (one with five
or more cylinders or "units". One each for the four process colors plus
the fifth for the matched color).

The three major process-color matching systems that are available and
are supported by graphic programs are Trumatch and Focoltone, which
are exclusively 4-color systems, and Pantone, which also makes a 4-
color guide. They all provide fan-shaped color-finders which show the
available colors. Don't be sorry that you can't have all the millions of
hues your software is capable of making. The thousands that Trumatch,
Focoltone, and Pantone give you are ample to work with. What's more,
you can be sure that you'll get what you specify — with luck.

Trumatch organizes over 2000 colors by hue, saturation and brightness
in a user-friendly and intuitive system: you can easily find colors that
bear close family relationship — brighter or duller, lighter or darker. The
differences between Trumatch colors are logical, because formulations
are based on accurate proportions in 1 % increments. Colors are shown
on both coated and uncoated papers. The differences are serious.

Focoltone shows 763 standard colors using 5% screens along more
printing-oriented lines. Each starting color made up of 4-color tints is
analyzed in groupings that subtract a process color layer. Thus you see
four 3-color combinations, six 2-color combinations and the four single
CMYK layers. Similar colors can be several groups apart, so it is more
difficult to compare them to each other than in Trumatch.

Pantone organizes the fanguide into 2-color combinations with their
shades, followed by 3-color and 4-color combinations, with the main
color at the top and examples of decreased saturation and brightness
below. Similar colors are not necessarily next to each other. The swatch
book is on coated stock only, but shows 3000 colors.

If you have no process color guide (which you should invest in), you can
specify colors according to process color charts you get from your
printer. Find the swatch you like, then specify the percentages of CMYK
of which It is built.

This type is easily legible on a
pcile screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at all.

This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at all.

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This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at all.

This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at cdl.

This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at all.

This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
tint, the more uncomfortable
does reading become. If the
background is too dark, few will
bother to read the text at all,

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This type is easily legible on a
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ler to read the text at all. m

This type is easily legible on a
pale screen, but the darker the
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When graphic design is considered as an end in itself and is
done for its own sake, then it is terrifying indeed, for its validity
depends entirely on one's subjective "liking," and "liking" is a
quality no one can define and few can agree about. All anyone
can do is to feel insecure about it and defend one's arbitrary
position. Furthermore, such an approach to design is nothing
but a quest for superficial beauty: making a publication look
good and pleasing to the eye. It is, of course, possible to
develop such cosmetic gloss on any product, but that approach
was nailed down forever by Oscar Wilde when he referred to
the dead fish in the moonlight; "It glistens, but it stinks." When
graphic design is regarded as a means to an end, then it is no
longer self-centered art-for-art's sake. That is a very different
kettle offish that smells delicious. As such, it becomes accessible
to anyone: those who originate the product as well as those who

On Color for Impact:

"For anyone with access to color output,
White's book is a keeper."

— David Dean, Corel Magazine

"To improve your understanding of how
to use color ... turn to Jan White. He
understands color in design like no other
writer. "

— Thad Mcllroy, Color Resource

"The quick-reading book reduces the
art of color choice to its essence: let a
publication's specific message, audience,
its needs and your common sense dictate
color decisions."

— Ronnie Lipton, InHouse Graphics

"Color for Impact is emerging as the
definitive guide to using color for office
communications."

— Roger C. Parker,
Home Office Computing

On Jan White's
other books:

Jan V. White is a

communication

design consultant who

lectures worldwide on

the relationship of

graphics to editing,

persuading verbal

people to think

visually and visual

people to think verbally. He has given more than

1400 seminars in twenty countries. An architect

by training, he was an art director with Time,

Inc. for 13 years. In 1964 he founded his own

publication-design studio.

Mr. White is the author of a dozen books on
visual techniques in publishing — including the
classic Editing by Design and best-selling
Graphic Idea Notebook — and many articles.
As a consultant to publishers, he is responsible
for the design of countless magazines and
publications of all kinds. He developed the
graphics for the Xerox Publishing Standards,
counseled on Eastman Kodak's, and has worked
with many other firms on their business and
technical documents.

"In the esoteric world of publication
design, Jan White must rank as one of its
first citizens, as well as resident theoreti-
cian."

— Dugald Stermer,
Communication Arts

"Color for the Electronic Age earns
unreserved recommendations for designers
at all levels of experience."

— Desktop Communications

ISBN Q-TbEMflTl-T-D

52495

9 780962"489198'

"Learn Graphic Design can be of immea-
surable benefit.... The quality is top-notch
and it is sure to influence the standard by
which other graphic design materials will
be measured."

— PC Magazine, Editor's Choice

"If ever a book has managed to treat an
extrememly complex and intricate subject
matter and succeed in presenting explana-
tions and solutions in a funny and easily
understandable way, Mastering Graphics
has achieved both."

— Graph is

$24.95

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